tihrary  of  Che  trheolojicd  ^emmarjp 

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PRESENTED  BY 

The  Estate  of  the 
Rev.  John  B.  Wledinger 

BV  4501  .T75  1906 
Torrey,  R.  a.  1856-1928 
How  to  succeed  in  the 
Christian  life 


HOW  TO  SUCCEED  IN 
THE  CHRISTIAN   LIFE 


WORKS  BY  R.  A.  TORREY 

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TT  O  111      V'lER     2     W^ 

How  to  Succeeaxin 
The   Christian   Li 


By  R.  A.  TORRE Y 

Juthor  of"  How  to  Bring  Men  to  Christ,''  "What 
the  Bible  Teaches"    "     alks  to   Men"  etc.,  etc. 


New  York       Chicago       Toronto 

Fleming  H.  Revell  Company 

London    and    Edinburgh 


Copyright,  1906,  by 
FLEMING  H.  REVELL  COMPANY 


New  York:  158  Fifth  Avenue 
Chicago:  80  Wabash  Avenue 
Toronto:  27  Richmond  Street,  W, 
London:  21  Paternoster  Square 
Edinburgh:     100    Princes    Street 


Dedicated  to 

the  many  thousands  in  many 

lands  who  have  professed 

Christ  in  our  meetings 


CONTENTS 


I. 

Beginning  Right  . 

II 

II. 

The  Open  Confession  of  Christ 

19 

III. 

Assurance  of  Salvation 

22 

IV. 

Receiving  the  Holy  Spirit  . 

29 

V. 

Looking  Unto  Jesus 

35 

VI. 

Church  Membership     . 

41 

VII. 

Bible  Study 

46 

VIII. 

Difficulties  in  the  Bible     . 

64 

IX. 

Prayer          .... 

74 

X. 

Working  for  Christ    . 

82 

XI. 

Foreign  Missions          .        , 

90 

XII. 

Companions  .... 

98 

XIII. 

Amusements 

.     103 

XIV. 

Persecution  .... 

108 

XV. 

Guidance      .... 

.     113> 

INTRODUCTION 

I  HAVE  for  years  felt  the  need  of  a  book  to  put 
in  the  hands  of  those  beginning  the  Christian 
life  that  would  tell  them  just  how  to  make  a 
complete  success  of  this  new  life  upon  which 
they  were  entering.  I  could  find  no  such  book, 
so  I  have  been  driven  to  write  one.  This  book 
aims  to  tell  the  young  convert  just  what  he  most 
needs  to  know.  I  hope  that  pastors  and  evangel- 
ists and  other  Christian  workers  may  find  it  a 
good  book  to  put  in  the  hands  of  young  con- 
verts. I  hope  that  it  may  also  prove  a  helpful 
book  to  many  who  have  long  been  Christians 
but  have  not  made  that  headway  in  the  Christian 
life  that  they  long  for. 


How  to  Succeed  in  the 
Christian  Life 


BEGINNING  RIGHT 

f  There  is  nothing  more  important  in  the  Chris- 
tian hfe  than  beginning  right.  If  we  begin  right 
we  can  go  on  right.  If  we  begin  wrong  the 
whole  Hfe  that  follows  is  likely  to  be  wrong.  If 
any  one  who  reads  these  pages  has  begun  wrong, 
it  is  a  very  simple  matter  to  begin  over  again 
and  begin  right.  What  the  right  beginning  in 
the  Christian  Hfe  is  we  are  told  in  John  1:12, 
"  But  as  many  as  received  Him,  to  them  gave 
He  power  to  become  the  sons  of  God,  even  to 
them  that  beHeve  on  His  name."  The  right 
way  to  begin  the  Christian  life  is  by  receiving 
Jesus  Christ.  To  any  one  who  receives  Him, 
He  at  once  gives  power  to  become  a  child  of 
God.  If  the  reader  of  this  book  should  be  the 
wickedest  man  on  earth  and  should  at  this  mo- 
ment receive  Jesus  Christ,  that  very  instant  he 
would  become  a  child  of  God.  God  says  so  in 
the  most  unqualified  way  in  the  verse  quoted 
above.     No  one  can  become  a  child  of  God  in 


12     How  to  Succeed  in  the  Christian  Life 

any  other  way.  No  man,  no  matter  how  carefully 
he  has  been  reared,  no  matter  how  well  he  has  been 
sheltered  from  the  vices  and  evils  of  this  world, 
is  a  child  of  God  until  he  receives  Jesus  Christ. 
We  are  •'  sons  of  God  through  faith  in  Christ 
Jesus  "  (Gal.  3 :  26,  r.  v.),  and  in  no  other  way. 

What  does  it  mean  to  receive  Jesus  Christ? 
It  means  to  take  Christ  to  be  to  yourself  all 
that  God  offers  Him  to  be  to  everybody.  Jesus 
Christ  is  God's  gift.  "  For  God  so  loved  the 
world  that  He  gave  His  only  begotten  Son  that 
whosoever  believeth  in  Him  should  not  perish 
but  have  everlasting  Ufe  "  (John  3 :  i6).  Some 
accept  this  wondrous  gift  of  God.  Every  one 
who  does  accept  this  gift  becomes  a  child  of 
God.  Many  others  refuse  this  wondrous  gift  of 
God,  and  every  one  who  refuses  this  gift  of  God 
perishes.  He  is  condemned  already.  "  He  that 
believeth  on  the  Son  is  not  condemned,  but  he 
that  believeth  not  is  condemned  already  because 
he  hath  not  believed  in  the  name  of  the  only  be- 
gotten Son  of  God  "  (John  3  :  18). 

What  does  God  offer  His  Son  to  be  to  us  ? 

I.  First  of  all,  God  offers  Jesus  to  us  to  be  our 
sin-bearer.  We  have  all  sinned.  There  is  not  a 
man  or  woman  or  a  boy  or  a  girl  who  has  not 
sinned  (Romans  3 :  22,  23).  If  any  of  us  say 
that  we  have  not  sinned  we  are  deceiving  our- 
selves and  giving  the  lie  to  God  (i  John  i  :  8,  10). 


Beginning  Right  13 

Now  we  must  each  of  us  bear  our  own  sin  or 
some  one  else  must  bear  it  in  our  place.  If  we 
were  to  bear  our  own  sins,  it  would  mean  we 
must  be  banished  forever  from  the  presence  of 
God,  for  God  is  holy.  "  God  is  light  and  in  Him 
is  no  darkness  at  all"  (i  John  i  :  5).  But  God 
Himself  has  provided  another  to  bear  our  sins 
in  our  place  so  that  we  should  not  need  to  bear 
them  ourselves.  This  sin-bearer  is  God's  own 
Son,  Jesus  Christ,  "  For  He  hath  made  Him  to 
be  sin  for  us  who  knew  no  sin  that  we  might 
be  made  the  righteousness  of  God  in  Him " 
(2  Cor.  5  :  21).  When  Jesus  Christ  died  upon 
the  cross  of  Calvary  He  redeemed  us  from  the 
curse  of  the  law  by  being  made  a  curse  in  our 
stead  (Gal.  3  :  13).  To  receive  Christ  then  is  to 
believe  this  testimony  of  God  about  His  Son,  to 
believe  that  Jesus  Christ  did  bear  our  sins  in  His 
own  body  on  the  cross  (i  Pet.  2:  24),  and  to 
trust  God  to  forgive  all  our  sins  because  Jesus 
Christ  has  borne  them  in  our  place.  "  All  we 
like  sheep  have  gone  astray;  we  have  turned 
every  one  to  his  own  way;  and  the  Lord  hath 
laid  on  Him  the  iniquity  of  us  all"  (Is.  53:  6). 
Our  own  good  works,  past,  present  or  future  have 
nothing  to  do  with  the  forgiveness  of  our  sins. 
Our  sins  are  forgiven,  not  because  of  any  good 
works  that  we  do,  they  are  forgiven  because  of 
the  atoning  work  of  Christ  upon  the  cross  of 


14     How  to  Succeed  in  the  Christian  Life 

Calvary  in  our  place.  If  we  rest  in  this  atoning 
work  we  shall  do  good  works,  but  our  good 
works  will  be  the  outcome  of  our  being 
saved  and  the  outcome  of  our  beheving  on 
Christ  as  our  sin-bearer.  Our  good  works  will 
not  be  the  ground  of  our  salvation,  but  the  re- 
sult of  our  salvation,  and  the  proof  of  it.  We 
must  be  very  careful  not  to  mix  in  our  good 
works  at  all  as  the  ground  of  salvation.  We 
are  not  forgiven  because  of  Christ's  death  and 
our  good  works,  we  are  forgiven  solely  and  en- 
tirely because  of  Christ's  death.  To  see  this 
clearly  is  the  right  beginning  of  the  true  Chris- 
tian life. 

2.  God  offers  Jesus  to  us  as  our  deliverer  from 
the  power  of  sin.  Jesus  not  only  died,  He  rose 
again.  To-day  He  is  a  living  Saviour,  He  has 
all  power  in  heaven  and  on  earth  (Matt.  28 :  18). 
He  has  power  to  keep  the  weakest  sinner  from 
falling  (Jude  24).  He  is  able  to  save  not  only 
from  the  uttermost  but  "  to  the  uttermost "  all 
that  come  unto  the  Father  through  Him. 
(Wherefore  He  is  able  to  save  to  the  utter- 
most them  that  draw  near  unto  God  through 
Him,  seeing  that  He  ever  liveth  to  make  inter- 
cession for  them. — Heb.  7  :  25,  r.  v.)  "  If  the 
Son  therefore  shall  make  you  free,  ye  shall  be 
free  indeed"  (John  8:  36).  To  receive  Jesus  is 
to  believe  this  that  God  tells  us  in  His  Word 


Beginning  Right  15 

about  Him,  to  believe  that  He  did  rise  from  the 
dead,  to  believe  that  He  does  now  live,  to  be- 
lieve that  He  has  power  to  keep  us  from  falling, 
to  believe  that  He  has  power  to  keep  us  from 
the  power  of  sin  day  by  day,  and  just  trust  Him 
to  do  it. 

This  is  the  secret  of  daily  victory  over  sin. 
If  we  try  to  fight  sin  in  our  own  strength, 
we  are  bound  to  fail.  If  we  just  look  up  to  the 
risen  Christ  to  keep  us  every  day  and  every  hour, 
He  will  keep  us.  Through  the  crucified  Christ 
we  get  deliverance  from  the  guilt  of  sin,  our 
sins  are  all  blotted  out,  we  are  free  from  all  con- 
demnation ;  but  it  is  through  the  risen  Christ 
that  we  get  daily  victory  over  the  power  of  sin. 
Some  receive  Christ  as  a  sin-bearer  and  thus  find 
pardon,  but  do  not  get  beyond  that,  and  so  their 
life  is  one  of  daily  failure.  Others  receive  Him 
as  their  risen  Saviour  also,  and  thus  enter  into 
an  experience  of  victory  over  sin.  To  begin 
right  we  must  take  Him  not  only  as  our  sin- 
bearer,  and  thus  find  pardon ;  but  we  must  also 
take  Him  as  our  risen  Saviour,  our  Deliverer 
from  the  power  of  sin,  our  Keeper,  and  thus  find 
daily  victory  over  sin. 

3.  But  God  offers  Jesus  to  us,  not  only  as  our 
sm-bearer  and  our  Deliverer  from  the  power  of  si?t, 
but  He  also  offers  Him  to  us  as  our  Lord  and 
King.     We  read  in  Acts   2 :  36,  "  Let  all  the 


i6     How  to  Succeed  in  the  Christian  Life 

house  of  Israel  know  assuredly,  that  God  hath 
made  that  same  Jesus,  whom  ye  have  crucified, 
both  Lord  and  Christ."  Lord  means  Divine 
Master,  and  Christ  means  anointed  King.  To 
receive  Jesus  is  to  take  Him  as  our  Divine 
Master,  as  the  One  to  whom  we  yield  the  absolute 
confidence  of  our  intellects,  the  One  whose  word 
we  beheve  absolutely,  the  One  whom  we  will 
believe  though  many  of  the  wisest  of  men  may 
question  or  deny  the  truth  of  His  teachings  ;  and 
as  our  King  to  whom  we  gladly  yield  the  ab- 
solute control  of  our  lives,  so  that  the  question 
from  this  time  on  is  never  going  to  be,  what 
would  I  like  to  do  or  what  do  others  tell  me  to 
do,  or  what  do  others  do,  but  the  whole  question 

is  WHAT  WOULD  MY  KlNG  JeSUS  HAVE  ME  DO  ?      A 

right  beginning  involves  an  unconditional  sur- 
render to  the  Lordship  and  Kingship  of  Jesus. 

The  failure  to  realize  that  Jesus  is  Lord  and 
King,  as  well  as  Saviour,  has  led  to  many  a  false 
start  in  the  Christian  life.  We  begin  with  Him 
as  our  Saviour,  as  our  sin-bearer  and  our  De- 
liverer from  the  power  of  sin,  but  we  must  not 
end  with  Him  merely  as  Saviour,  we  must  know 
Him  as  Lord  and  King.  There  is  nothing  more 
important  in  a  right  beginning  of  the  Christian 
life  than  an  unconditional  surrender,  both  of  the 
thoughts  and  the  conduct  to  Jesus.  Say  from 
your  heart  and  say  it  again  and  again,  "  All  for 


Beginning  Right  17 

Jesus."  Many  fail  because  they  shrink  back 
from  this  entire  surrender.  They  wish  to  serve 
Jesus  with  half  their  heart,  and  part  of  them- 
selves and  part  of  their  possessions.  To  hold 
back  anything  from  Jesus  means  a  wretched  life 
of  stumbling  and  failure. 

The  life  of  entire  surrender  is  a  joyous  life  all 
along  the  way.  If  you  have  never  done  it  before, 
go  alone  with  God  to-day,  get  down  on  your 
knees  and  say,  "  All  for  Jesus,"  and  mean  it. 
Say  it  very  earnestly ;  say  it  from  the  bottom  of 
your  heart.  Stay  there  until  you  realize  what  it 
means  and  what  you  are  doing.  It  is  a  wondrous 
step  forward  when  one  really  takes  it.  If  you 
have  taken  it  already,  take  it  again,  take  it  often. 
It  always  has  fresh  meaning  and  brings  fresh 
blessedness.  In  this  absolute  surrender  is  found 
the  key  to  the  truth.  Doubts  rapidly  disappear 
for  one  who  surrenders  all  (John  7  :  17).  In  this 
absolute  surrender  is  found  the  secret  of  power 
in  prayer  (i  John  3:  22).  In  this  absolute  sur- 
render is  found  the  supreme  condition  of  receiv- 
ing the  Holy  Ghost  (Acts  5  :  32). 

Taking  Christ  as  your  Lord  and  King  involves 
obedience  to  His  will  as  far  as  you  know  it  in 
each  smallest  detail  of  life.  There  are  those  who 
tell  us  that  they  have  taken  Christ  as  their  Lord 
and  King  who  at  the  same  time  are  disobeying 
Him  daily  in  business,  in  domestic  hfe,  in  social 


l8     How  to  Succeed  in  the  Christian  Life 

life  and  in  personal  conduct.  Such  persons  are 
deceiving  themselves.  You  have  not  taken  Jesus 
as  your  Lord  and  King  if  you  are  not  striving  to 
obey  Him  in  everything  each  day.  He  Himself 
says,  "  Why  call  ye  Me  *  Lord,  Lord  ! '  and  do 
not  the  things  that  I  say  ?  "  (Luke  6 :  46). 

To  sum  it  all  up,  the  right  way  to  begin  the 
Christian  life  is  to  accept  Jesus  Christ  as  your 
sin-bearer  and  to  trust  God  to  forgive  your  sins 
because  Jesus  Christ  died  in  your  place;  to 
accept  Him  as  your  risen  Saviour  who  ever  lives 
to  make  intercession  for  you,  and  who  has  all 
power  to  keep  you,  and  to  trust  Him  to  keep 
you  from  day  to  day ;  and  to  accept  Him  as  your 
Lord  and  King  to  whom  you  surrender  the 
absolute  control  of  your  thoughts  and  of  your 
hfe.  This  is  the  right  beginning,  the  only  right 
beginning  of  the  Christian  Hfe,  If  you  have 
made  this  beginning,  all  that  follows  will  be  com- 
paratively easy.  If  you  have  not  made  this 
beginning,  make  it  now. 


II 

THE  OPEN  CONFESSION  OF  CHRIST 

Having  begun  the  Christian  Ufe  right  by 
taking  the  proper  attitude  towards  Christ  in  a 
private  transaction  between  Himself  and  your- 
self, the  next  step  is  an  open  confession  of  the 
relationship  that  now  exists  between  yourself 
and  Jesus  Christ.  Jesus  says  in  Matt.  lo:  32, 
"  Whosoever  therefore  shall  confess  Me  before 
men,  him  will  I  confess  also  before  My  Father 
which  is  in  heaven."  He  demands  a  public  con- 
fession. He  demands  it  for  your  own  sake. 
This  is  the  path  of  blessing.  Many  attempt  to 
be  disciples  of  Jesus  and  not  let  the  world  know 
it.  No  one  has  ever  succeeded  in  that  attempt. 
To  be  a  secret  disciple  means  to  be  no  disciple 
at  all.  If  one  really  has  received  Christ  he  can- 
not keep  it  to  himself.  "  For  out  of  the  abun- 
dance of  the  heart  the  mouth  speaketh  "  (Matt. 
1 2 :  34).  So  important  is  the  public  confession 
of  Christ  that  Paul  puts  it  first  in  his  statement 
of  the  conditions  of  salvation.  He  says,  "  If  thou 
shalt  confess  with  thy  rnoiith  the  Lord  Jesus  and 
shalt  believe  in  thine  heart  that  God  hath  raised 
Him  from  the  dead,  thou  shalt  be  saved.  For 
19 


20     How  to  Succeed  in  the  Christian  Life 

with  the  heart  man  believeth  unto  righteousness  ; 
and  with  the  mouth  confession  is  made  unto 
salvation  "  (Rom.  lo :  9,  10).  The  hfe  of  con- 
fession is  the  life  of  full  salvation.  Indeed,  the 
life  of  confession  is  the  hfe  of  the  only  real 
salvation.  When  we  confess  Christ  before  men 
down  here,  He  confesses  us  before  the  Father  in 
heaven  and  the  Father  gives  us  the  Holy  Spirit 
as  the  seal  of  our  salvation. 

It  is  not  enough  that  we  confess  Christ  just 
once,  as,  for  example,  when  we  are  confirmed,  or 
when  we  unite  with  the  church,  or  when  we 
come  forward  in  a  revival  meeting.  We  should 
confess  Christ  constantly.  We  should  not  be 
ashamed  of  our  Lord  and  King.  We  should  let 
people  know  that  we  are  on  His  side.  In  the 
home,  in  the  church,  at  our  work,  and  at  our 
play,  we  should  let  others  know  where  we  stand. 
Of  course,  we  should  not  parade  our  Christianity 
or  our  piety,  but  we  should  leave  no  one  in 
doubt  whether  we  belong  to  Christ.  We  should 
let  it  be  seen  that  we  glory  in  Him  as  our  Lord 
and  King. 

The  failure  to  confess  Christ  is  one  of  the  most 
frequent  causes  of  backsliding.  Christians  get 
into  new  relationships  where  they  are  not  known 
as  Christians  and  where  they  are  tempted  to  con- 
ceal the  fact ;  they  yield  to  the  temptation  and 
they  soon  find  themselves  drifting.     The  more 


The  Open  Confession  of  Christ       21 

you  make  of  Jesus  Christ,  the  more  He  will 
make  of  you.  It  will  save  you  from  many  a 
temptation  if  the  fact  is  clearly  known  that  you 
are  one  who  acknowledges  Christ  as  Lord  in  all 
things. 


Ill 

ASSURANCE  OF  SALVATION 

If  one  is  to  have  the  fullest  measure  of  joy  and 
power  in  Christian  service,  he  must  know  that  his 
sins  are  forgiven,  that  he  is  a  child  of  God,  and 
that  he  has  eternal  life.  It  is  the  believer's 
privilege  to  know  that  he  has  eternal  life.  John 
says  in  i  John  5  :  13,  r.  v.,  "  These  things  have 
I  written  unto  you,  that  ye  may  kiiow  that  ye 
have  eternal  life,  even  unto  you  that  believe  on 
the  name  of  the  Son  of  God."  John  wrote  this 
first  epistle  for  the  express  purpose  that  any  one 
who  believes  on  the  name  of  the  Son  of  God 
might  know  that  he  has  eternal  life. 

There  are  those  who  tell  us  that  no  one  can 
know  that  he  has  eternal  life  until  he  is  dead  and 
has  been  before  the  judgment  seat  of  God,  but  God 
Himself  tells  us  that  we  may  know.  To  deny  the 
possibility  of  the  believer's  knowing  that  he  has 
eternal  life  is  to  say  that  the  First  Epistle  of  John 
was  written  in  vain,  and  it  is  to  insult  the  Holy 
Spirit  who  is  its  real  author.  Again  Paul  tells 
us  in  Acts  13:  39,  R.  v.,  "  By  Him  (that  is  by 
Christ)  every  one  that  believeth  is  justified  from 
all  things."  So  every  one  that  believeth  in  Jesus 
22 


Assurance  of  Salvation  23 

may  know  that  he  is  justified  from  all  things. 
He  may  know  it  because  the  Word  of  God  says 
so.  Again  John  tells  us  in  John  i:  12,  r.  v., 
"  But  as  many  as  received  Him  (that  is  Jesus 
Christ)  to  them  gave  He  the  right  to  become 
children  of  God,  even  to  them  that  believe  on 
His  name."  Here  is  a  definite  and  unmistakable 
declaration  that  every  one  who  receives  Jesus 
becomes  a  child  of  God.  Therefore  every  be- 
liever in  Jesus  may  know  that  he  is  a  child  of 
God.  He  may  know  it  on  the  surest  of  all 
grounds,  /.  e.,  because  the  Word  of  God  asserts 
that  he  is  a  child  of  God. 

But  how  may  any  individual  know  that  he  has 
eternal  life  ?  He  may  know  it  on  the  very  best 
ground  of  knowledge,  that  is  through  the  testi- 
mony of  God  Himself  as  given  in  the  Bible. 
The  testimony  of  Scripture  is  the  testimony  of 
God.  What  the  Scriptures  say  is  absolutely 
sure.  What  the  Scriptures  say  God  says.  Now 
in  John  3 :  36  the  Scriptures  say,  "  He  that  be- 
lieveth  on  the  Son  hath  everlasting  life."  Any 
one  of  us  may  know  whether  we  believe  on  the 
Son  or  not.  Whether  we  have  that  real  faith  in 
Christ  that  leads  us  to  receive  Him.  If  we  have 
this  faith  in  Christ  we  have  God's  own  written 
testimony  that  we  have  eternal  life,  that  our  sins 
are  forgiven,  that  we  are  the  children  of  God. 
We  may  feel  forgiven,  or  we  may  not  feel  for- 


24     How  to  Succeed  in  the  Christian  Life 

given,  but  that  does  not  matter.  It  is  not  a  ques- 
tion of  what  we  feel  but  of  what  God  says.  God's 
Word  is  ahvays  to  be  believed.  Our  own  feel- 
ings are  oftentimes  to  be  doubted.  There  are 
many  who  are  led  to  doubt  their  sins  are  for- 
given, to  doubt  that  they  have  everlasting  life,  to 
doubt  that  they  are  saved,  because  they  do  not 
feel  forgiven,  or  do  not  feel  that  they  have  ever- 
lasting life,  or  do  not  feel  that  they  are  saved. 
Because  you  do  not  feel  it  is  no  reason  why  you 
should  doubt  it. 

Suppose  that  you  were  sentenced  to  impris- 
onment and  that  your  friends  secured  a  par- 
don for  you.  The  legal  document  announcing 
your  pardon  is  brought  to  you.  You  read  it 
and  know  you  are  pardoned  because  the  legal 
document  says  so,  but  the  news  is  so  good 
and  so  sudden  that  you  are  dazed  by  it.  You 
do  not  realize  that  you  are  pardoned.  Some  one 
comes  to  you  and  says,  "  Are  you  pardoned  ?  " 
What  would  you  reply  ?  You  would  say,  "  Yes, 
I  am  pardoned."  Then  he  asks,  "  Do  you  feel 
pardoned  ? "  You  reply,  "  No,  I  do  not  feel 
pardoned.  It  is  so  sudden,  it  is  so  wonderful,  I 
cannot  realize  it."  Then  he  says  to  you,  "  But 
how  can  you  know  that  you  are  pardoned  if  you 
do  not  feel  it?"  You  would  hold  out  the  docu- 
ment and  you  would  say,  "  This  says  so."  The 
time  would  come,  after  you  had  read  the  docu- 


Assurance  of  Salvation  25 

ment  over  and  over  again  and  believed  it,  when 
you  would  not  only  know  you  were  pardoned 
because  the  document  said  so  but  you  would 
feel  it.  Now  the  Bible  is  God's  authoritative 
document  declaring  that  every  one  that  believeth 
in  Jesus  is  justified;  declaring  that  every  one 
that  believeth  on  the  Son  hath  everlasting  hfe; 
declaring  that  every  one  who  receives  Jesus  is  a 
child  of  God.  If  any  one  asks  you  if  your  sins 
are  all  forgiven,  reply,  "  Yes,  I  know  they  are 
because  God  says  so."  If  they  ask  you  if  you 
know  that  you  are  a  child  of  God,  reply,  "  Yes, 
I  know  I  am  a  child  of  God  because  God  says 
so."  If  they  ask  you  if  you  have  everlasting 
life,  reply,  "  Yes,  I  know  I  have  everlasting  life 
because  God  says  so.  God  says, '  He  that  be- 
lieveth on  the  Son  hath  everlasting  life.'  I  know 
I  believe  on  the  Son,  and  therefore  I  know  I 
have  eternal  hfe — because  God  says  so."  You 
may  not  feel  it  yet  but  if  you  will  keep  medi- 
tating upon  God's  statement  and  believing  what 
God  says,  the  time  will  come  when  you  will 
feel  it. 

For  one  who  believes  on  the  Son  of  God  to 
doubt  that  he  has  eternal  life  is  for  him  to  make 
God  a  liar.  "  He  that  believeth  on  the  Son  of 
God  hath  the  witness  in  him.  He  that  believeth 
not  God,  hath  made  Him  a  liar  because  he  hath 
not  believed  in  the  witness  that  God  hath  borne 


26     How  to  Succeed  in  the  Christian  Life 

concerning  His  Son  and  the  witness  is  this,  that 
God  gave  unto  us  eternal  Hfe,  and  this  Hfe  is  in 
His  Son.  He  that  hath  the  Son  hath  the  life : 
he  that  hath  not  the  Son  of  God  hath  not  the 
Hfe"  (i  John  5:  10-12,  r.  v.).  Any  one  who 
does  not  believe  God's  testimony  that  He  has 
given  unto  us  eternal  life  and  that  this  life  is  in 
His  Son  and  that  he  that  hath  the  Son  hath  the 
life,  makes  God  a  Har. 

It  is  sometimes  said  "  it  is  presumption  for  any 
one  to  say  that  he  knows  he  is  saved,  or  to  say 
that  he  knows  that  he  has  eternal  life."  But  is  it 
presumption  to  believe  God?  Is  it  not  rather 
presumption  not  to  believe  God,  to  make  God  a 
liar  ?  When  you  who  believe  on  the  Son  of  God 
and  yet  doubt  that  you  have  eternal  life,  you  make 
God  a  liar.  When  Jesus  said  to  the  woman  who 
was  a  sinner,  "  Thy  sins  are  forgiven "  (Luke 
7 :  48),  was  it  presumption  for  her  to  go  out  and 
say,  "  I  know  my  sins  are  all  forgiven  "  ?  Would 
it  not  have  been  presumption  for  her  to  have 
doubted  for  a  moment  that  her  sins  were  all  for- 
given ?  Jesus  had  said  that  they  were  forgiven. 
For  her  to  doubt  it  would  have  been  for  her  to  give 
the  lie  to  Jesus.  Is  it  then  any  more  presump- 
tion for  the  believer  to-day  to  say,  "  My  sins  are 
all  forgiven,  I  have  eternal  life,"  when  God  says 
in  His  written  testimony  to  every  one  that  be- 
lieveth, "  You  are  justified  from  all  things  "  (Acts 


Assurance  of  Salvation  27 

13:39).  "You  have  eternal  life"  (John  3:36; 
I  John  5:13)? 

Be  very  sure  first  of  all  that  you  really  do  believe 
on  the  name  of  the  Son  of  God ;  that  you  really 
have  received  Jesus.  If  you  are  sure  of  this 
then  never  doubt  for  a  moment  that  your  sins 
are  all  forgiven,  never  doubt  for  a  moment  that 
you  are  a  child  of  God,  never  doubt  for  a  mo- 
ment that  you  have  everlasting  life.  If  Satan 
comes  and  whispers,  "  Your  sins  are  not  for- 
given," point  Satan  to  the  Word  of  God  and  say, 
"  God  says  my  sins  are  forgiven  and  I  know 
they  are."  If  Satan  whispers,  •'  Well  perhaps 
you  don't  believe  on  Him,"  then  say,  "  Well  if  I 
never  did  before  I  will  now."  And  then  go  out 
rejoicing,  knowing  that  your  sins  are  forgiven, 
knowing  that  you  are  a  child  of  God,  knowing 
that  you  have  everlasting  life. 

There  are  doubtless  many  who  say  they  know 
they  have  eternal  life  who  really  do  not  believe 
on  the  name  of  the  Son  of  God,  who  have  not 
really  received  Jesus.  This  is  not  true  assurance. 
It  has  no  sure  foundation  in  the  Word  of  God 
who  cannot  lie.  If  we  wish  to  get  assurance  of 
salvation  we  must  first  get  saved.  The  reason 
why  many  have  not  the  assurance  that  they  are 
saved  is  because  they  are  not  saved.  They 
ought  not  to  have  assurance.  What  they  need 
first  is  salvation.     But  if  you  have  received  Jesus 


28     How  to  Succeed  in  the  Christian  Life 

in  the  way  described  in  the  first  chapter,  you  are 
SAVED,  you  are  a  child  of  God,  your  sins  are 
forgiven,     Beheve  it,  know  it.     Rejoice  in  it. 

Having  settled  it,  let  it  remain  settled.  Never 
doubt  it.  You  may  make  mistakes,  you  may 
stumble,  you  may  fall,  but  even  if  you  do,  if  you 
have  really  received  Jesus,  know  that  your  sins 
are  forgiven  and  rise  from  your  fall  and  go  for- 
ward in  the  glad  assurance  that  there  is  nothing 
between  you  and  God. 


IV 

RECEIVING  THE  HOLY  SPIRIT 

When  the  Apostle  Paul  came  to  Ephesus,  he 
found  a  little  group  of  twelve  disciples  of  Christ. 
There  was  something  about  these  twelve  disci- 
ples that  struck  Paul  unfavourably.  We  are  not 
told  what  it  was.  It  may  be  that  he  did  not  find 
in  them  that  overflowing  joyfulness  that  one  learns 
to  expect  in  all  Christians  who  have  really  en- 
tered into  the  fullness  of  blessing  that  there  is  for 
them  in  Christ.  It  may  be  that  Paul  was  troub- 
led at  the  fact  that  there  were  only  twelve  of 
them,  thinking  that  if  these  twelve  were  what 
they  ought  to  be,  there  would  certainly  have  been 
more  than  twelve  of  them  by  this  time.  What- 
ever it  may  have  been  that  impressed  Paul  un- 
favourably, he  went  right  to  the  root  of  the  dif- 
ficulty at  once  by  putting  to  them  the  question, 
"  Did  ye  receive  the  Holy  Ghost  when  ye  be- 
lieved? "  (Acts  19  :  2,  R.  v.).  It  came  out  at  once 
that  they  had  not 'received  the  Holy  Ghost,  that 
in  fact  they  did  not  know  that  the  Holy  Ghost 
had  been  given.  Then  Paul  told  them  that  the 
Holy  Ghost  had  been  given,  and  also  showed 
them  just  what  they  must  do  to  receive  the  Holy 
29 


30     How  to  Succeed  in  the  Christian  Life 

Ghost  then  and  there,  and  before  that  gathering 
was  over  the  Holy  Ghost  came  upon  them. 
From  that  day  on  there  was  a  different  state  of 
affairs  in  Ephesus.  A  great  revival  sprang  up  at 
once  so  that  the  whole  city  was  shaken,  "  So 
mightily  grew  the  Word  of  God  and  prevailed  " 
(Acts  19  :  20).  Paul's  question  to  these  young 
disciples  in  Ephesus  should  be  put  to  young 
disciples  everywhere,  "  Have  ye  received  the 
Holy  Ghost  ?  "  In  receiving  the  Holy  Spirit  is 
the  great  secret  of  joyfulness  in  our  own  hearts, 
of  victory  over  sin,  of  power  in  prayer,  and  of 
effective  service. 

Every  one  who  has  truly  received  Jesus  must 
have  the  Holy  Spirit  dwelling  in  him  in  some 
sense  ;  but  in  many  believers,  though  the  Holy 
Spirit  dwells  in  them,  He  dwells  way  back  in 
some  hidden  sanctuary  of  their  being,  back  of 
consciousness.  It  is  something  quite  different, 
something  far  better  than  this,  to  receive  the 
Holy  Spirit  in  the  sense  that  Paul  meant  in  his 
question.  To  receive  the  Holy  Spirit  in  such  a 
sense  that  one  knows  experimentally  that  he  has 
received  the  Holy  Spirit,  to  receive  the  Holy 
Spirit  in  such  a  sense  that  we  are  conscious  of 
the  joy  with  which  He  fills  our  hearts  different 
from  any  joy  that  we  have  ever  known  in  the 
world ;  to  receive  the  Holy  Spirit  in  such  a  sense 
that  He  rules  our  life  and  produces  within  us  in 


Receiving  the  Holy  Spirit  31 

ever  increasing  measure  the  fruit  of  the  Spirit, 
love,  joy,  peace,  long-suffering,  gentleness,  good- 
ness, faith,  meekness,  temperance  ;  to  receive  the 
Holy  Spirit  in  such  a  sense  that  we  are  conscious 
of  His  drawing  our  hearts  out  in  prayer  in  a  way 
that  is  not  of  ourselves ;  to  receive  the  Holy 
Spirit  in  such  a  sense  that  we  are  conscious  of 
His  help  when  we  witness  for  Christ,  when  we 
speak  to  others  individually  and  try  to  lead  them 
to  accept  Christ,  or  when  we  teach  a  Sunday- 
school  class,  or  speak  in  public,  or  do  any  other 
work  for  the  Master.  Have  you  received  the 
Holy  Spirit  ?  If  you  have  not,  let  me  tell  you 
how  you  may. 

1.  First  of  all  in  order  to  receive  the  Holy 
Spirit,  one  must  be  resting  in  the  death  of  Christ 
on  the  cross  for  us  as  the  sole  and  all-sufficient 
ground  upon  which  God  pardons  all  our  sins  and 
forgives  us. 

2.  In  order  to  receive  the  Holy  Spirit  we 
must  put  away  every  known  sin.  We  should  go 
to  our  heavenly  Father  and  ask  Him  to  search  us 
through  and  through  and  bring  to  light  anything 
in  our  life,  our  outward  life  or  our  inward  life, 
that  is  wrong  in  His  sight,  and  if  He  does  bring 
anything  to  light  that  is  displeasing  to  Him,  we 
should  put  it  away,  no  matter  how  dear  it  is  to 
us.  There  must  be  a  complete  renunciation  of 
all  sin  in  order  to  receive  the  Holy  Spirit. 


32     How  to  Succeed  in  the  Christian  Life 

3.  In  the  third  place,  in  order  to  receive  the 
Holy  Spirit,  there  must  be  an  open  confession  of 
Christ  before  the  world.  The  Holy  Spirit  is  not 
given  to  those  who  are  trying  to  be  disciples  in 
secret,  but  to  those  who  obey  Christ  and  pubhcly 
confess  Him  before  the  world. 

4.  In  the  fourth  place,  in  order  to  receive  the 
Holy  Spirit,  there  must  be  an  absolute  surrender 
of  our  lives  to  God.  You  must  go  to  Him  and 
say,  "  Heavenly  Father,  here  I  am.  Thou  hast 
bought  me  with  a  price.  I  am  Thy  property.  I 
renounce  all  claim  to  do  my  own  will,  all 
claim  to  govern  my  own  life,  all  claim  to  have 
my  own  way.  I  give  myself  up  unreservedly 
to  Thee — all  I  am  and  all  I  have.  Send 
me  where  Thou  wilt,  use  me  as  Thou  wilt,  do 
with  me  what  Thou  wilt — I  am  Thine."  If  we 
hold  anything  back  from  God,  no  matter  how 
small  it  may  seem,  that  spoils  it  all.  But  if  we 
surrender  all  to  God,  then  God  will  give  all  that 
He  has  to  us.  There  are  some  who  shrink  from 
this  absolute  surrender  to  God,  but  absolute  sur- 
render to  God  is  simply  absolute  surrender  to  in- 
finite love.  Surrender  to  the  Father,  to  the 
Father  whose  love  is  not  only  wiser  than  any 
earthly  father's,  but  more  tender  than  any  earthly 
mother's. 

5.  In  order  to  receive  the  Holy  Spirit  there 
should  be  definite  asking  for  the  Holy  Spirit. 


Receiving  the  Holy  Spirit  33 

Our  Lord  Jesus  says  in  Luke  u  :  13,  "If  ye 
then,  being  evil,  know  how  to  give  good  gifts 
unto  your  children :  how  much  more  shall  your 
heavenly  Father  give  the  Holy  Spirit  to  them 
that  ask  Him?"  Just  ask  God  to  give  you  the 
Holy  Spirit  and  expect  Him  to  do  it,  because  He 
says  He  will. 

6,  Last  of  all,  in  order  to  receive  the  Holy 
Spirit,  there  must  be  faith,  simply  taking  God  at 
His  Word.  No  matter  how  positive  any  promise 
of  God's  Word  may  be,  we  enjoy  it  personally 
only  when  we  believe.  Our  Lord  Jesus  says, 
"  All  things  whatsoever  ye  pray  and  ask  for, 
believe  that  ye  have  received  them,  and  ye  shall 
have  them  "  (Mark  1 1  :  24,  r.  v.).  When  you 
pray  for  the  Holy  Spirit  you  have  prayed  for 
something  according  to  God's  will  and  therefore 
you  may  know  that  your  prayer  is  heard  and 
that  you  have  what  you  asked  of  Him  (i  John 
5  :  14,  15),  You  may  feel  no  different,  but  do  not 
look  at  your  feelings  but  at  God's  promise. 
Believe  the  prayer  is  heard,  believe  that  God  has 
given  you  the  Holy  Spirit  and  you  will  after- 
wards have  in  actual  experience  what  you  have 
received  in  simple  faith  on  the  bare  promise  of 
God's  Word. 

It  is  well  to  go  often  alone  and  kneel  down 
and  look  up  to  the  Holy  Spirit  and  put  into  His 
hands  anew  the  entire  control  of  your  Hfe.     Ask 


34     How  to  Succeed  in  the  Christian  Life 

Him  to  take  the  control  of  your  thoughts,  the 
control  of  your  imagination,  the  control  of  your 
affections,  the  control  of  your  desires,  the  control 
of  your  ambitions,  the  control  of  your  choices, 
the  control  of  your  purposes,  the  control  of  your 
words,  the  control  of  your  actions,  the  control  of 
everything,  and  just  expect  Him  to  do  it.  The 
whole  secret  of  victory  in  the  Christian  life  is 
letting  the  Holy  Spirit  who  dwells  within  you, 
have  undisputed  right  of  way  in  the  entire  con- 
duct of  your  hfe. 


V 
LOOKING  UNTO  JESUS 

If  we  are  to  run  with  patience  the  race  that  is 
set  before  us,  we  must  ahvays  keep  looking  unto 
Jesus  (Heb.  12:  1-3).  One  of  the  simplest  and 
yet  one  of  the  mightiest  secrets  of  abiding  joy 
and  victory  is  to  never  lose  sight  of  Jesus. 

I.  First  of  all  we  must  keep  looking  at  Jesus 
as  the  ground  of  our  acceptance  before  God. 
Over  and  over  again  Satan  will  make  an  attempt 
to  discourage  us  by  bringing  up  our  sins  and 
failures  and  thus  try  to  convince  us  that  we  are 
not  children  of  God,  or  not  saved.  If  he  suc- 
ceeds in  getting  us  to  keep  looking  at  and  brood- 
ing over  our  sins,  he  will  soon  get  us  discouraged, 
and  discouragement  means  failure.  But  if  we 
will  keep  looking  at  what  God  looks  at,  the  death 
of  Jesus  Christ  in  our  place  that  completely 
atones  for  every  sin  that  we  ever  committed,  we 
will  never  be  discouraged  because  of  the  great- 
ness of  our  sins.  We  shall  see  that  while  our 
sins  are  great,  very  great,  that  they  have  all  been 
atoned  for.  Every  time  Satan  brings  up  one  of 
our  sins,  we  shall  see  that  Jesus  Christ  has  re- 
deemed us  from  its  curse  by  being  made  a  curse 
35 


36     How  to  Succeed  in  the  Christian  Life 

in  our  place  (Gal.  3 :  13).  We  shall  see  that 
while  in  ourselves  we  are  full  of  unrighteousness, 
nevertheless  in  Christ  we  are  made  the  righteous- 
ness of  God,  because  Christ  was  made  to  be  sin 
in  our  place  (2  Cor.  5  :  21).  We  will  see  that 
every  sin  that  Satan  taunts  us  about  has  been 
borne  and  settled  forever  ( i  Pet.  2 :  24 ;  Is. 
53:  6).     We  shall  always  be  able  to  sing, 

"  Jesus  paid  my  debt, 
All  the  debt  I  owe ; 
Sin  had  left  a  crimson  stain. 
He  washed  it  white  as  snow." 

If  you  are  this  moment  troubled  about  any  sin 
that  you  have  ever  committed,  either  in  the  past 
or  in  the  present,  just  look  at  Jesus  on  the  cross ; 
believe  what  God  tells  you  about  Him,  that  this 
sin  which  troubles  you  was  laid  upon  Him 
(Is.  53:  6).  Thank  God  that  the  sin  is  all 
settled ;  be  full  of  gratitude  to  Jesus  who  bore 
it  in  your  place  and  trouble  about  it  no  more. 
It  is  an  act  of  base  ingratitude  to  God  to  brood 
over  sins  that  He  in  His  infinite  love  has  can- 
celled. Keep  looking  at  Christ  on  the  cross  and 
walk  always  in  the  sunlight  of  God's  favour. 
This  favour  of  God  has  been  purchased  for  you 
at  great  cost.  Gratitude  demands  that  you 
should  always  believe  in  it  and  walk  in  the  light 
of  it. 


Looking  Unto  Jesus  37 

2.  In  the  second  place,  we  must  keep  look- 
ing at  Jesus  as  our  risen  Saviotir,  ivho  has  all 
pozver  in  heaven  and  on  earth  and  is  able  to  keep 
7is  every  day  and  every  hour.  Are  you  tempted 
to  do  some  wrong  at  this  moment  ?  If  you  are, 
remember  that  Jesus  rose  from  the  dead,  re- 
member that  at  this  moment  He  is  living  at  the 
right  hand  of  God  in  the  glory ;  remember  that 
He  has  all  power  in  heaven  and  on  earth,  and 
that,  therefore.  He  can  give  you  victory  right 
now.  Believe  what  God  tells  you  in  His  Word 
that  Jesus  has  power  to  save  you  this  moment 
"  to  the  uttermost "  (Heb.  7  :  25).  Believe  that  He 
has  power  to  give  you  victory  over  this  sin  that 
now  besets  you.  Ask  Him  to  give  you  victory, 
expect  Him  to  do  it.  In  this  way  by  looking 
unto  the  risen  Christ  for  victory  you  may  have 
victory  over  sin  every  day,  every  hour,  every 
moment.  "  Remember  Jesus  Christ  risen  from 
the  dead  "  (2  Tim.  2:  8,  r.  v.). 

God  has  called  every  one  of  us  to  a  victorious 
life,  and  the  secret  of  this  victorious  life  is  always 
looking  to  the  risen  Christ  for  victory.  Through 
looking  to  Christ  crucified  we  obtain  pardon  and 
enjoy  peace.  Through  looking  to  the  risen 
Christ  we  obtain  present  victory  over  the  power 
of  sin.  If  you  have  lost  sight  of  the  risen  Christ 
and  have  yielded  to  temptation,  confess  your  sin 
and  know  that  it  is  forgiven  because  God  says  so 


38     How  to  Succeed  in  the  Christian  Life 

(i  John  I  :  9)  and  look  to  Jesus,  the  risen  One, 
again  to  give  you  victory  now  and  keep  looking 
to  Him. 

3.  In  the  third  place,  we  must  keep  looking 
to  Jesus  as  the  One  whom  zve  should  follow  in 
our  daily  co7iduct.  Our  Lord  Jesus  says  to  us, 
His  disciples  to-day,  as  He  said  to  His  early  dis- 
ciples, "  Follow  Me."  The  whole  secret  of  true 
Christian  conduct  can  be  summed  up  in  these  two 
words  «  Follow  Me."  "  He  that  saith  he  abideth 
in  Him  ought  himself  so  to  walk  even  as  He 
walked"  (i  John  2:  6).  One  of  the  commonest 
causes  of  failure  in  Christian  life  is  found  in  the 
attempt  to  follow  some  good  man,  whom  we 
greatly  admire.  No  man  and  no  woman,  no 
matter  how  good,  can  be  safely  followed.  If  we 
follow  any  man  or  woman,  we  are  bound  to  go 
astray.  There  never  has  been  but  one  abso- 
lutely perfect  Man  upon  this  earth — the  Man 
Christ  Jesus.  If  we  try  to  follow  any  other  man 
we  are  more  sure  to  imitate  his  faults  than  his 
excellencies.  Look  at  Jesus  and  Jesus  only  as 
your  Guide. 

If  at  any  time  you  are  in  any  perplexity  as  to 
what  to  do,  simply  ask  the  question,  What  would 
Jesus  do  ?  Ask  God  by  His  Holy  Spirit  to  show 
you  what  Jesus  v/ould  do.  Study  your  Bible  to 
find  out  what  Jesus  did  do  and  follow  Jesus. 
Even  though  no  one  else  seems  to  be  following 


Looking  Unto  Jesus  39 

Jesus,  be  sure  that  you  follow  Him,  Do  not 
spend  your  time  or  thought  in  criticising  others 
because  they  do  not  follow  Jesus.  See  that  you 
follow  Him  yourself.  When  you  are  wasting 
your  time  criticising  others  for  not  following 
Jesus,  Jesus  is  always  saying  to  you,  "  What  is 
that  to  thee;  follow  thou  Me"  (John  21  :  22). 
The  question  for  you  is  not  what  following  Jesus 
may  involve  for  other  people.  The  question  is 
what  does  following  Jesus  mean  for  you  ? 

This  is  the  really  simple  life,  the  hfe  of  simply 
following  Jesus.  Many  perplexing  questions  will 
come  to  you,  but  the  most  perplexing  question 
will  soon  become  as  clear  as  day  if  you  determine 
with  all  your  heart  to  follow  Jesus  in  everything. 
Satan  will  always  be  ready  to  whisper  to  you, 
"  Such  and  such  a  good  man  does  it,"  but  all 
you  need  to  do  is  to  answer,  "  It  matters  not  to 
me  what  this  or  that  man  may  do  or  not  do. 
The  only  question  to  me  is.  What  would  Jesus 
do  ?  "  There  is  wonderful  freedom  in  this  life 
of  simply  following  Jesus.  This  path  is  straight 
and  plain.  But  the  path  of  the  one  who  tries  to 
shape  his  conduct  by  observing  the  conduct  of 
others  is  full  of  twists  and  turns  and  pitfalls. 
Keep  looking  at  Jesus.  Follow  on  trustingly 
where  He  leads.  This  is  the  path  of  the  just 
which  shineth  more  and  more  unto  the  perfect 
day  (Prov.  4 :  18).     He  is  the  Light  of  the  World, 


4©     How  to  Succeed  in  the  Christian  Life 

any  one  who  follows  Him  shall  not  walk  in  dark- 
ness, but  shall  have  the  light  of  life  all  along  the 
way  (John  8  :  12). 


VI 

CHURCH  MEMBERSHIP 

No  young  Christian  and  no  old  Christian  can 
have  real  success  in  the  Christian  life  without  the 
fellowship  of  other  believers.  The  church  is  a 
divine  institution,  built  by  Jesus  Christ  Himself. 
It  is  the  one  institution  that  abides.  Other 
institutions  come  and  go ;  they  do  their  work  for 
their  day  and  disappear,  but  the  church  will  con- 
tinue to  the  end.  "  The  gates  of  hell  shall  not 
prevail  against  it"  (Matt.  i6:  i8).  The  church 
is  made  up  of  men  and  women,  imperfect  men 
and  women,  and  consequently  is  an  imperfect 
institution,  but  none  the  less  it  is  of  divine  origin 
and  God  loves  it,  and  every  believer  should 
realize  that  he  belongs  to  it  and  should  openly 
take  his  place  in  it  and  bear  his  responsibilities 
regarding  it. 

The  true  church  consists  of  all  true  believers, 
all  who  are  united  to  Jesus  Christ  by  a  living 
faith  in  Himself.  In  its  outward  organization 
at  the  present  time,  it  is  divided  into  numberless 
sects  and  local  congregations,  but  in  spite  of 
these  divisions  the  true  church  is  one.  It  has 
one  Lord,  Jesus  Christ.  It  has  one  faith,  faith 
41 


42     How  to  Succeed  in  the  Christian  Life 

in  Him  as  Saviour,  Divine  Lord  and  only  King  ; 
one  baptism,  the  baptism  in  the  one  Spirit  into 
the  one  body  (Eph.  4:4,  5;  i  Cor.  12:  13). 
But  each  individual  Christian  needs  the  fellow- 
ship of  individual  fellow  believers.  The  outward 
expression  of  this  fellowship  is  in  membership  in 
some  organized  body  of  believers.  If  we  hold 
aloof  from  all  organized  churches,  hoping  thus 
to  have  a  broader  fellowship  with  all  believers 
belonging  to  all  the  churches,  we  deceive  our- 
selves. We  will  miss  the  helpfulness  that  comes 
from  intimate  union  with  some  local  congre- 
gation. I  have  known  many  well-meaning  per- 
sons who  have  held  aloof  from  membership  in 
any  specific  organization,  and  I  have  never  known 
a  person  who  has  done  this,  whose  own  spiritual 
life  has  not  suffered  by  it.  On  the  day  of  Pente- 
cost the  three  thousand  who  were  converted  were 
at  once  baptized  and  were  added  to  the  church 
(Acts  2:41,  47),  and  "They  continued  stead- 
fastly in  the  apostle's  doctrine  and  fellowship, 
and  in  breaking  of  bread  and  in  prayers."  Their 
example  is  the  one  to  follow.  If  you  have  really 
received  Jesus  Christ,  hunt  up  as  soon  as  pos- 
sible some  company  of  others  who  have  received 
Jesus  Christ  and  unite  yourself  with  them. 

In  many  communities  there  may  be  no  choice 
of  churches,  for  there  is  only  one.  In  other  com- 
munities   one  will  be  faced  with  the  question, 


Church  Membership  43 

"  With  what  body  of  believers  shall  I  unite  ? " 
Do  not  waste  your  time  looking  for  a  perfect 
church.  There  is  no  perfect  church.  If  you 
wait  until  you  find  a  perfect  church  before  you 
unite  with  any,  you  will  unite  with  none,  and 
thus  you  will  belong  to  a  church  in  which  you 
are  the  only  member  and  that  is  the  most  im- 
perfect church  of  all.  I  would  rather  belong  to 
the  most  imperfect  Christian  church  I  ever  knew 
than  not  to  belong  to  any  church  at  all.  The 
local  churches  in  Paul's  day  were  very  imperfect 
institutions.  Let  one  read  the  epistles  to  the 
Corinthians  and  see  how  imperfect  was  the 
church  in  Corinth,  see  how  much  there  was 
that  was  evil  in  it,  and  yet  Paul  never  thought 
of  advising  any  believer  in  Corinth  to  get  out  of 
this  imperfect  church.  He  did  tell  them  to  come 
out  of  heathenism,  to  come  out  from  fellowship 
with  infidels  (2  Cor.  6:  14-18),  but  not  a  word 
on  coming  out  of  the  imperfect  church  in  Cor- 
inth. He  did  tell  the  church  in  Corinth  to  sepa- 
rate from  their  membership  certain  persons  whose 
hves  were  wrong  (i  Cor.  5:11,  12),  but  he  did 
not  tell  the  individual  members  of  the  church  in 
Corinth  to  get  out  of  the  church  because  these 
persons  had  not  yet  been  separated  from  their 
fellowship. 

As  you  cannot  find  a  perfect  church,  find  the 
best  church  you  can.     Unite  with  a  church  where 


44     How  to  Succeed  in  the  Christian  Life 

they  believe  in  the  Bible  and  where  they  preach 
the  Bible.  Avoid  the  churches  where  words  are 
spoken  open  or  veiled  that  have  a  tendency  to 
undermine  your  faith  in  the  Bible  as  a  reliable 
revelation  from  God  Himself,  the  all-sufficient 
rule  of  faith  and  practice.  Unite  with  a  church 
where  there  is  a  spirit  of  prayer,  where  the  prayer- 
meetings  are  well  kept  up.  Unite  with  a  church 
that  has  a  real  active  interest  in  the  salvation  of 
the  lost,  where  young  Christians  are  looked  after 
and  helped,  where  minister  and  people  have  a 
love  for  the  poor  and  outcast,  a  church  that 
regards  its  mission  in  this  world  to  be  the  same 
as  the  mission  of  Christ,  "  to  seek  and  to  save 
the  lost."  ,  As  to  denominational  differences, 
other  things  being  equal,  unite  with  that  de- 
nomination whose  ideas  of  doctrine  and  of  gov- 
ernment and  of  the  ordinances  are  most  closely 
akin  to  your  own.  But  it  is  better  to  unite 
with  a  live  church  of  some  other  denomination 
than  to  unite  with  a  dead  church  of  your  own. 
We  live  in  a  day  when  denominational  differences 
are  becoming  ever  less  and  less,  and  oftentimes 
they  are  of  no  practical  consequence  whatever ; 
and  one  will  often  feel  more  at  home  in  a  church 
of  some  other  denomination  than  in  any  acces- 
sible church  of  his  own  denomination.  The 
things  that  divide  the  denominations  are  insig- 


Church  Membership  45 

nificant   compared  with   the  great  fundamental 
truths  and  purposes  and  faith  that  unite  them. 

If  you  cannot  find  the  church  that  agrees 
with  the  pattern  set  forth  above,  find  the  church 
that  comes  nearest  to  it.  Go  into  that  church 
and  by  prayer  and  by  work  try  to  bring  that 
church  as  nearly  as  you  can  to  the  pattern  of 
what  you  think  a  church  of  Christ  ought  to  be. 
But  do  not  waste  your  strength  in  criticism 
against  either  church  or  minister.  Seek  for  what 
is  good  in  the  church  and  in  the  minister  and  do 
your  best  to  strengthen  it.  Hold  aloof  firmly, 
though  unobtrusively,  from  what  is  wrong  and 
seek  to  correct  it.  Do  not  be  discouraged  if 
you  cannot  correct  it  in  a  day  or  a  week  or  a 
month  or  a  year.  Patient  love  and  prayer  and 
effort  will  tell  in  time.  Drawing  off  by  yourself 
and  snarling  and  grumbling  will  do  no  good. 
They  will  simply  make  you  and  the  truths  for 
which  you  stand  repulsive. 


VII 
BIBLE  STUDY 

There  is  nothing  more  important  for  the  de- 
velopment of  the  spiritual  life  of  the  Christian 
than  regular,  systematic  Bible  study.  It  is  as 
true  in  the  spiritual  life  as  it  is  in  the  physical 
life  that  health  depends  upon  what  we  eat  and 
how  much  we  eat.  The  soul's  proper  food  is 
found  in  one  book,  the  Bible.  Of  course,  a 
true  minister  of  the  gospel  will  feed  us  on  the 
Word  of  God,  but  that  is  not  enough.  He  feeds 
us  but  one  or  two  days  in  the  week  and  we  need 
to  be  fed  every  day.  Furthermore,  it  will  not 
do  to  depend  upon  being  fed  by  others.  We 
must  learn  to  feed  ourselves.  If  we  study  the 
Bible  for  ourselves  as  we  ought  to  study  it,  we 
shall  be  in  a  large  measure  independent  of 
human  teachers.  Even  if  we  are  so  unfortunate 
as  to  have  for  our  minister  a  man  who  is  himself 
ignorant  of  the  truth  of  God  we  shall  still  be 
safe  from  harm. 

We   live   in   a   day    in   which    false    doctrine 

abounds  on   every  hand  and  the  only  Christian 

who  is  safe  from  being  led  into  error  is  the  one 

who   studies  his  Bible  for  himself  daily.     The 

46 


Bible  Study  47 

Apostle  Paul  warned  the  elders  of  the  church  in 
Ephesus  that  the  time  was  soon  coming  when 
grievous  wolves  should  enter  in  among  them  not 
sparing  the  flock  and  when  of  their  own  selves 
men  should  arise  speaking  perverse  things  to 
draw  away  the  disciples  after  them,  but  he  told 
them  how  to  be  safe  even  in  such  perilous  times 
as  these.  He  said, "  I  commend  you  to  God  and 
to  the  Word  of  His  grace,  which  is  able  to  build 
you  up  and  to  give  you  an  inheritance  among 
them  which  are  sanctified."  Through  medita- 
tion on  the  Word  of  God's  grace  they  would  be 
safe  even  in  the  midst  of  abounding  error  on  the 
part  of  the  leaders  in  the  church  (Acts  20: 
29-32).  Writing  later  to  the  Bishop  of  the 
church  in  Ephesus  Paul  said,  "  But  evil  men  and 
impostors  shall  wax  worse  and  worse,  deceiving 
and  being  deceived  (2  Tim.  3 :  1 3,  R.  v.)  but  he 
goes  on  to  tell  Bishop  Timothy  how  he  and  his 
fellow  believers  could  be  safe  even  in  such  times  of 
increasing  peril  as  w^ere  coming.  That  way  was 
through  the  study  of  the  Holy  Scriptures,  which 
are  able  to  make  wise  unto  salvation  (2  Tim. 
3:  14,  15).  "All  Scripture,"  he  adds,  "is 
given  by  inspiration  of  God  and  is  profitable  for 
doctrine,  for  reproof,  for  correction,  for  instruc- 
tion in  righteousness  that  the  man  of  God  may 
be  perfect,  thoroughly  furnished  unto  all  good 
works."     That  is  to  say,  through  the  study  of 


48     How  to  Succeed  in  the  Christian  Life 

the  Bible  one  will  be  sound  in  doctrine,  will  be 
led  to  see  his  sins  and  put  them  away,  will  find 
discipline  in  the  righteous  life  and  attain  unto 
complete  equipment  for  all  good  works.  Our 
spiritual  health,  our  growth,  our  strength,  our 
victory  over  sin,  our  soundness  in  doctrine,  our 
joy  and  peace  in  Christ,  our  cleansing  from 
inward  and  outward  sin,  our  fitness  for  service, 
all  depend  upon  the  study  of  the  Word  of  God. 
The  one  who  neglects  his  Bible  is  bound  to 
make  a  failure  of  the  Christian  life.  The  one 
who  studies  his  Bible  in  the  right  spirit  and  by  a 
true  method  is  bound  to  make  a  success  of  the 
Christian  life. 

This  brings  us  face  to  face  with  the  question, 
"  What  is  the  right  way  to  study  the  Bible  ?  " 

I.  First  of  all,  we  should  study  it  daily 
(Acts  17:  11).  This  is  of  prime  importance. 
No  matter  how  good  the  methods  of  Bible  study 
that  one  follows  may  be,  no  matter  how  much 
time  one  may  put  into  Bible  study  now  and  then, 
the  best  results  can  only  be  secured  when  one 
makes  it  a  matter  of  principle  never  to  let  a 
single  day  go  by  without  earnest  Bible  study. 
This  is  the  only  safe  course.  Any  day  that  is 
allowed  to  pass  without  faithful  Bible  study  is  a 
day  thrown  open  to  the  advent  into  our  hearts 
and  lives  of  error  or  of  sin.  The  writer  has 
been  a  Christian  for  more  than  a  quarter  of  a 


Bible  Study  49 

century  and  yet  to-day  he  would  not  dare  to 
allow  even  a  single  day  to  pass  over  his  head 
without  listening  to  the  voice  of  God  as  it  speaks 
to  him  through  the  pages  of  His  Book.  It  is  at 
this  point  that  many  fall  away.  They  grow 
careless  and  let  a  day  pass,  or  even  several  days 
pass,  without  going  alone  with  God  and  letting 
Him  speak  to  them  through  His  Word.  Mr. 
Moody  once  wisely  said,  "  In  prayer  we  talk  to 
God.  In  Bible  study,  God  talks  to  us,  and  we 
had  better  let  God  do  most  of  the  talking." 

A  regular  time  should  be  set  apart  each  day 
for  the  study  of  the  Bible.  I  do  not  think  it  is 
well  as  a  rule  to  say  that  we  shall  study  so  many 
chapters  in  a  day,  for  that  leads  to  undue  haste 
and  skimming  and  thoughtlessness,  but  it  is  well 
to  set  apart  a  certain  length  of  time  each  day  for 
Bible  study.  Some  can  give  more  time  to  Bible 
study  than  others,  but  no  one  ought  to  give  less 
than  fifteen  minutes  a  day.  I  set  the  time  so  low 
in  order  that  no  one  may  be  discouraged  at  the 
outset.  If  a  young  Christian  should  set  out  to 
give  an  hour  or  two  hours  a  day  to  Bible  study, 
there  is  a  strong  probability  that  he  would  not 
keep  to  the  resolution  and  he  might  become  dis- 
couraged. Yet  I  know  of  many  very  busy  people 
who  have  given  the  first  hour  of  every  day  for 
years  to  Bible  study  and  some  who  have  given 
even  two  hours  a  day".     The  late  Earl  Cairns, 


50     How  to  Succeed  in  the  Christian  Life 

Lord  Chancellor  of  England,  was  one  of  the 
busiest  men  of  his  day,  but  Lady  Cairns  told 
me  a  few  months  ago  that  no  matter  how  late 
he  reached  home  at  night  he  always  arose 
at  the  same  early  hour  for  prayer  and  Bible 
study.  She  said,  "  We  would  sometimes  get 
home  from  Parliament  at  two  o'clock  in  the 
morning,  but  Lord  Cairns  would  always  arise 
at  the  same  early  hour  to  pray  and  study  the 
Bible."  Lord  Cairns  is  reported  as  saying, 
"  If  I  have  had  any  success  in  life,  I  attribute 
it  to  the  habit  of  giving  the  first  two  hours  of 
each  day  to  Bible  study  and  prayer." 

It  is  important  that  one  choose  the  right  time 
for  this  study.  Wherever  it  is  possible,  the  best 
time  for  this  study  is  immediately  after  arising  in 
the  morning.  The  worst  time  of  all  is  the  last 
thing  at  night.  Of  course,  it  is  well  to  give  a 
little  while  just  before  we  retire  to  Bible  reading, 
in  order  that  God's  voice  may  be  the  last  to 
which  we  listen,  but  the  bulk  of  our  Bible  study 
should  be  done  at  an  hour  when  our  minds  are 
clearest  and  strongest.  Whatever  time  is  set 
apart  for  Bible  study  should  be  kept  sacredly  for 
that  purpose. 

2.  We  should  study  the  Bible  systematically. 
Much  time  is  frittered  away  in  random  study  of 
the  Bible.  The  same  amount  of  time  put  into 
systematic  study  would  yield  far  larger  results. 


Bible  Study  51 

Have  a  definite  place  where  you  are  studying 
and  have  a  definite  plan  of  study.  A  good  way 
for  a  young  Christian  to  begin  the  study  of  the 
Bible  is  to  read  the  Gospel  of  John.  When  you 
have  read  it  through  once,  begin  and  read  it  again 
until  you  have  gone  over  the  Gospel  five  times. 
Then  read  the  Gospel  of  Luke  five  times  in  the 
same  way ;  then  read  the  Acts  of  the  Apostles 
five  times,  then  i  Thessalonians  five  times,  then 
I  John  five  times,  then  Romans  five  times,  then 
Ephesians  five  times. 

By  this  time  you  will  be  ready  to  take  up  a 
more  thorough  method  of  Bible  study.  A  good 
method  is  to  begin  at  Genesis  and  read  the  Bible 
through  chapter  by  chapter.  Read  each  chapter 
through  several  times  and  then  answer  the  fol- 
lowing questions  on  the  chapter : 

(i)  What  is  the  principal  subject  of  the  chap- 
ter ?  (State  the  principal  contents  of  the  chapter 
in  a  single  phrase  or  sentence.) 

(2)  What  is  the  truth  most  clearly  taught  and 
most  emphasized  in  the  chapter  ? 

(3)  What  is  the  best  lesson? 

(4)  What  is  the  best  verse  ? 

(5)  Who  are  the  principal  people  mentioned  ? 

(6)  What  does  the  chapter  teach  about  Jesus 
Christ?  Go  through  the  entire  Bible  in  this 
way. 

Another  and  more  thorough  method  of  Bible 


52     How  to  Succeed  in  the  Christian  Life 

chapter  study,  which  cannot  be  applied  to  every 
chapter  in  the  Bible,  but  which  will  yield  excel- 
lent results  when  applied  to  some  of  the  more 
important  chapters  of  the  Bible,  is  as  follows  : 

(i)  Read  the  chapter  for  to-day's  study  five 
times,  reading  it  aloud  at  least  once.  Each  new 
reading  will  bring  out  some  new  point. 

(2)  Divide  the  chapter  into  its  natural  divi- 
sions and  find  headings  for  each  division  that 
describes  in  the  most  striking  way  the  contents 
of  that  division.  For  example,  suppose  the  chap- 
ter studied  is  i  John  5.  You  might  divide  it  in 
this  way  :  First  division,  verses  1-3,  The  Believ- 
er's Noble  Parentage.  Second  division,  verses 
4,  5,  The  Believer's  Glorious  Victory.  Third 
division,  verses  6-10,  The  Believer's  Sure  Ground 
of  Faith.  Fourth  division,  verses  11,  12,  The 
Believer's  Priceless  Possession.  Fifth  division, 
verse  13,  The  Believer's  Blessed  Assurance. 
Sixth  division,  verses  14,  15,  The  Believer's  Un- 
questioning Confidence.  Seventh  division,  verses 
16,  17,  The  Believer's  Great  Power  and  Respon- 
sibihty.  Eighth  division,  verses  18,  19,  The  Be- 
liever's Perfect  Security.  Ninth  division,  verse 
20,  The  Believer's  Precious  Knowledge.  Tenth 
division,  verse  21,  The  Believer's  Constant 
Duty. 

(3)  Note  the  important  differences  between  the 
Authorized  Version  and  the  Revised. 


Bible  Study  53 

(4)  Write  down  the  leading  facts  of  the  chap- 
ter in  their  proper  order. 

(5)  Make  a  note  of  the  persons  mentioned  in 
the  chapter  and  of  any  Hght  thrown  upon  their 
character. 

(6)  Note  the  principal  lessons  of  the  chapter. 
It  would  be  well  to  classify  these.  For  instance 
lessons  about  God ;  lessons  about  Christ,  lessons 
about  the  Holy  Spirit,  etc. 

(7)  Find  the  central  truth  of  the  chapter. 

(8)  The  key  verse  of  the  chapter,  if  there  is 
one. 

(9)  The  best  verse  in  the  chapter.  Mark  it 
and  memorize  it. 

(10)  Write  down  what  new  truth  you  have 
learned  from  the  chapter. 

(11)  Write  down  what  truth  already  known 
has  come  to  you  with  new  power. 

(12)  What  definite  thing  have  you  resolved  to 
do  as  a  result  of  studying  this  chapter.  It  would 
be  well  to  study  in  this  way,  all  the  chapters  in 
Matthew,  Mark,  Luke,  John  and  Acts;  the  first 
eight  chapters  of  Romans  ;  i  Cor.  1 2,  1 3  and  1 5  ; 
first  six  chapters  of  2  Corinthians  ;  all  the  chap- 
ters in  Galatians,  Ephesians,  Philippians,  First 
Thessalonians  and  First  Epistle  of  John.  It 
would  be  well  at  times  to  vary  this  by  taking  up 
other  methods  of  study  for  a  time. 

Another  profitable  method  of  Bible  study  is  the 


54     How  to  Succeed  in  the  Christian  Life 

topical  method.  This  was  Mr.  Moody's  favour- 
ite method  of  study.  Take  up  the  great  topics 
of  which  the  Bible  teaches  such  as,  the  Holy 
Spirit,  Prayer,  the  Blood  of  Christ,  Sin,  Judg- 
ment, Grace,  Justification,  the  New  Birth,  Sanc- 
tification,  Faith,  Repentance,  the  Character  of 
Christ,  the  Resurrection  of  Christ,  the  Ascension 
of  Christ,  the  Second  Coming  of  Christ,  Assur- 
ance, Love  of  God,  Love  (to  God,  to  Christ,  to 
Christians,  to  all  men).  Heaven,  Hell.  Get  a  Bible 
text-book  and  go  through  the  Bible  on  each  one 
of  these  topics.  (Other  methods  of  Bible  study, 
and  more  thorough  methods  for  the  advanced 
student,  will  be  found  in  the  author's  book  "  How 
TO  Study  the  Bible  for  Greatest  Profit.") 

3.  We  should  study  the  Bible  comprehen- 
sively— the  whole  Bible.  Many  who  read  their 
Bibles  make  the  great  mistake  of  confining  all 
their  reading  to  certain  portions  of  the  Bible  that 
they  enjoy,  and  in  this  way  they  get  no  knowl- 
edge of  the  Bible  as  a  whole.  They  miss  alto- 
gether many  of  the  most  important  phases  of 
Bible  truth.  Begin  and  go  through  the  Bible 
again  and  again — a  certain  portion  each  day  from 
the  Old  Testament  and  a  portion  from  the  New 
Testament.  Read  carefully  at  least  one  Psalm 
every  day. 

It  is  well  oftentimes  to  read  a  whole  book  of 
the  Bible  through  at  a  single  sitting.     Of  course, 


Bible  Study  55 

with  a  few  books  of  the  Bible  this  would  take 
one  or  two  hours,  but  with  most  of  the  books  of 
the  Bible  it  can  be  done  in  a  few  minutes.  With 
the  shorter  books  of  the  Bible  they  should  be 
read  through  again  and  again  at  a  single  sitting. 
4.  Study  the  Bible  attentively.  Do  not  hurry. 
One  of  the  worst  faults  in  Bible  study  is  haste 
and  heedlessness.  The  Bible  only  docs  good  by 
the  truth  that  it  contains.  It  has  no  magic 
power.  It  is  better  to  read  one  verse  attentively 
than  to  read  a  dozen  chapters  thoughtlessly. 
Sometimes  you  will  read  a  verse  that  takes  hold 
of  you.  Don't  hurry  on.  Linger  and  ponder 
that  verse.  As  you  read,  mark  in  your  Bible 
what  impresses  you  most.  One  does  not  need 
an  elaborate  system  of  Bible  marking,  simply 
mark  what  impresses  you.  Meditate  upon  what 
you  mark.  God  pronounces  that  man  blessed 
who  "  meditates  "  in  God's  law  day  and  night 
(Ps.  1 :  2).  It  is  wonderful  how  a  verse  of 
Scripture  will  open  if  one  reads  it  over  and  over 
again  and  again,  paying  attention  to  each  word 
as  he  reads  it,  trying  to  get  its  exact  meaning 
and  its  full  meaning.  Memorize  the  passages 
that  impress  you  most  (Ps.  119:  11,  r.  v.). 
When  you  memorize  a  passage  of  Scripture, 
memorize  its  location  as  well  as  its  words.  Fix 
in  your  mind  chapter  and  verse  where  the  words 
are  found.     A  busy  but  spiritually-minded  man 


56     How  to  Succeed  in  the  Christian  Life 

who  was  hurrying  to  catch  a  train  once  said  to 
me,  "  Tell  me  in  a  word  how  to  study  my 
Bible."     I  replied,  "  Thoughtfully." 

5.  Study  your  Bible  comparatively.  That  is 
compare  Scripture  with  Scripture.  The  best 
commentary  on  the  Bible  is  the  Bible  itself. 
Wherever  you  find  a  difficult  passage  in  the 
Bible,  there  is  always  some  passage  elsewhere 
that  explains  its  meaning.  The  best  book  to 
use  in  this  comparison  of  Scripture  with  Scrip- 
ture is  "  The  Treasury  of  Scripture  Knowledge." 
On  every  verse  in  the  Bible  this  book  gives  a 
large  number  of  references.  It  is  well  to  take 
up  some  book  of  the  Bible  and  go  through  that 
book  verse  by  verse,  looking  up  carefully  and 
studying  every  reference  given  in  "  The  Treasury 
of  Scripture  Knowledge."  This  is  a  very  fruitful 
method  of  Bible  study.  It  is  also  well  in  study- 
ing the  Bible  by  chapters  to  look  up  the  refer- 
ences on  the  more  important  verses  in  the  chapter. 
One  will  get  more  light  on  passages  of  Scripture 
by  looking  up  the  references  given  in  "  The 
Treasury  of  Scripture  Knowledge,"  than  in  any 
other  way  I  know. 

6.  Study  your  Bible  believingly.  The  Apostle 
Paul  in  writing  to  the  Christians  in  Thessalonica 
says,  "  For  this  cause  also  thank  we  God  without 
ceasing,  because,  when  ye  received  the  Word  of 
God  which  ye  heard  of  us,  ye  received  it  not  as 


Bible  Study  57 

the  Word  of  men,  but  as  it  is  in  truth,  the  Word 
of  God,  which  effectually  worketh  also  in  you  that 
believe"  (i  Thess.  2:  13).  Happy  is  the  one 
who  receives  the  Word  of  God  as  these  believers 
in  Thessalonica  received  it,  who  receives  it  as 
what  it  really  is,  the  Word  of  God.  In  such  a 
one  it  "  works  effectually."  The  Bible  is  the 
Word  of  God  and  we  get  the  most  out  of  any 
book  by  studying  it  as  what  it  really  is.  It  is 
often  said  that  we  should  study  the  Bible  just  as 
we  study  any  other  book.  That  principle  con 
tains  a  truth,  but  it  also  contains  a  great  error. 
The  Bible,  it  is  true,  is  a  book  as  other  books  are 
books,  the  same  laws  of  grammatical  and  literary 
construction  hold  here  as  in  other  books,  but  the 
Bible  is  a  unique  book.  It  is  what  no  other 
book  is,  the  Word  of  God.  This  can  be  easily 
proven  to  any  candid  man.^  The  Bible  ought  then 
to  be  studied  as  no  other  book  is.  It  should  be 
studied  as  the  Word  of  God.  This  involves  five 
things  : 

(i)  A  greater  eagerness  and  more  careful  and 
candid  study  to  find  out  just  what  it  teaches  than 
is  bestowed  upon  all  other  books.  It  is  impor- 
tant to  know  the  mind  of  man.  It  is  absolutely 
essential  to  know  the  mind  of  God.     The  place 


•  The  author  has  given  some  of  the  proofs  that  the  Bible  is 
the  Word  of  God  in  his  book,  "  Talks  to  Men." 


58     How  to  Succeed  in  the  Christian  Life 

to  discover  the  mind  of  God  is  the  Bible.     This 
is  the  book  in  which  God  reveals  His  mind. 

(2)  A  prompt  and  unquestioning  acceptance 
of,  and  submission  to  its  teachings  when  definitely 
ascertained.  These  teachings  may  appear  to  us 
unreasonable  or  impossible,  nevertheless  we  should 
accept  them.  If  this  book  is  the  Word  of  God, 
how  foolish  it  is  to  submit  its  teachings  to  the 
criticism  of  our  finite  reasoning.  A  httle  boy 
who  discredits  his  wise  father's  statements  simply 
because  to  his  infant  mind  they  appear  unreason- 
able, is  not  a  philosopher,  but  a  fool.  But  the 
greatest  of  human  thinkers  is  only  an  infant  com- 
pared with  the  infinite  God.  And  to  discredit 
God's  statements  found  in  His  Word  because 
they  appear  unreasonable  to  our  infantile  minds 
is  not  to  act  the  part  of  the  philosopher,  but  the 
part  of  a  fool.  When  we  are  once  satisfied  that 
the  Bible  is  the  Word  of  God,  its  clear  teachings 
must  be  for  us  the  end  of  all  controversy  and 
discussion. 

(3)  Absolute  reliance  upon  all  its  promises  in 
all  their  length  and  breadth  and  depth  and  height. 
The  one  who  studies  the  Bible  as  the  Word  of 
God  will  say  of  any  promise,  no  matter  how  vast 
and  beyond  belief  it  appears,  "  God  who  cannot 
lie  has  promised  this,  so  I  will  claim  it  for  my- 
self." Mark  the  promise  you  thus  claim.  Look 
each    day   for    some   new   promise   from   your 


Bible  Study  59 

infinite  Father.  He  has  put  "  His  riches  in 
glory  "at  your  disposal  (Phil.  4:  19).  I  know 
of  no  better  way  to  grow  rich  spiritually  than  to 
search  daily  for  promises,  and  when  you  find 
them  appropriate  them  to  yourself. 

(4)  Obedience.  Be  a  doer  of  the  Word  and 
not  a  hearer  only  deceiving  your  own  soul 
(James  i  :  22).  Nothing  goes  farther  to  help 
one  understand  the  Bible  than  the  purpose  to 
obey  it.  Jesus  said,  "  If  any  man  willeth  to  do 
His  will,  he  shall  know  of  the  teaching  "  (John 
7  :  17  R.  v.).  The  surrendered  will  means  the  clear 
eye.  If  our  eye  is  single  (that  is,  our  will  is  abso- 
lutely surrendered  to  God)  our  whole  body  shall 
be  full  of  light.  But  if  our  eye  be  evil  (that  is, 
if  we  are  trying  to  serve  two  masters  and  are  not 
absolutely  surrendered  to  one  Master,  God)  our 
whole  body  shall  be  full  of  darkness  (Matt. 
6 :  22-24).  Many  a  passage  that  looks  obscure 
to  you  now  would  become  as  clear  as  day  if  you 
were  willing  to  obey  in  all  things  what  the  Bible 
teaches.  Each  commandment  discovered  in  the 
Bible  that  is  really  intended  as  a  commandment 
to  us  should  be  obeyed  instantly.  It  is  remark- 
able how  soon  one  loses  his  relish  for  the  Bible 
and  how  soon  the  mind  becomes  obscured  to  its 
teachings  when  we  disobey  the  Bible  at  any 
point.  Many  a  time  I  have  known  persons  who 
have  loved  their  Bibles  and  have  been  useful  in 


6o     How  to  Succeed  in  the  Christian  Life 

God's  service  and  clear  in  their  views  of  the 
truth  who  have  come  to  something  in  the  Bible 
that  they  were  unwilling  to  obey,  some  sacrifice 
was  demanded  that  they  were  unwilling  to  make, 
and  their  love  for  the  Bible  has  rapidly  waned, 
their  faith  in  the  Bible  began  to  weaken,  and 
soon  they  were  drifting  farther  and  farther  away 
from  clear  views  of  the  truth.  Nothing  clears 
the  mind  like  obedience;  nothing  darkens  the 
mind  like  disobedience.  To  obey  a  truth  you 
see  prepares  you  to  see  other  truths.  To  dis- 
obey a  truth  you  see  darkens  your  mind  to  all 
truths. 

Cultivate  prompt,  exact,  unquestioning,  joyous 
obedience  to  every  command  that  it  is  evident 
from  its  context  applies  to  you.  Be  on  the  look- 
out for  new  orders  from  your  King.  Blessing 
lies  in  the  direction  of  obedience  to  them.  God's 
commands  are  but  sign-boards  that  mark  the  road 
to  present  success  and  blessedness  and  to  eternal 
glory. 

(5)  Studying  the  Bible  as  the  Word  of  God 
involves  studying  it  as  His  own  voice  speaking 
directly  to  you.  When  you  open  the  Bible  to 
study  realize  that  you  have  come  into  the  very 
presence  of  God  and  that  now  He  is  going  to 
speak  to  you.  Realize  that  it  is  God  who  is 
talking  to  you  as  much  as  if  you  saw  Him  stand- 
ing there.     Say  to  yourself,  "  God  is  now  going 


Bible  Study  6i 

to  speak  to  me."  Nothing  goes  farther  to  give 
a  freshness  and  gladness  to  Bible  study  than  the 
realization  that  as  you  read  God  is  actually  talk- 
ing to  you.  In  this  way  Bible  study  becomes 
personal  companionship  with  God  Himself.  That 
was  a  wonderful  privilege  that  Mary  had  one  day, 
of  sitting  at  the  feet  of  Jesus  and  listening  to  His 
voice,  but  if  we  will  study  the  Bible  as  the  Word 
of  God  and  as  if  we  were  in  God's  very  pres- 
ence, then  we  shall  enjoy  the  privilege  of  sitting 
at  the  feet  of  God  and  having  Him  talk  to  us 
every  day.  How  often  what  would  otherwise  be 
a  mere  mechanical  performance  of  a  duty  would 
become  a  wonderfully  joyous  privilege  if  one 
would  say  as  he  opens  the  Bible,  "  Now  God, 
my  Father,  is  going  to  speak  to  me."  Often- 
times it  helps  us  to  a  realization  of  the  presence 
of  God  to  read  the  Bible  on  our  knees.  The 
Bible  became  in  some  measure  a  new  book  to 
me  when  I  took  to  reading  it  on  my  knees. 

7.  Study  the  Bible  prayerfully.  God,  who  is 
the  author  of  the  Bible,  is  willing  to  act  as  inter- 
preter of  it.  He  does  so  when  you  ask  Him  to. 
The  one  who  prays  with  earnestness  and  faith 
the  Psalmist's  prayer,  "  Open  Thou  mine  eyes 
that  I  may  behold  wondrous  things  out  of  Thy 
law"  (Ps.  119:  18)  will  get  his  eyes  opened  to 
see  new  beauties  and  wonders  in  the  Word  of 
God  that  he  never  dreamed  of  before.     Be  very 


62     How  to  Succeed  in  the  Christian  Life 

definite  about  this.  Each  time  you  open  the 
Bible  to  study  it,  even  though  it  is  but  for  a  few 
minutes,  ask  God  to  give  you  an  open  and  dis- 
cerning eye,  and  expect  Him  to  do  it.  Every 
time  you  come  to  a  difficulty  in  the  Bible,  lay  it 
before  God  and  ask  an  explanation  and  expect 
it.  How  often  we  think  as  we  puzzle  over  hard 
passages,  "  Oh,  if  I  only  had  some  great  Bible 
teacher  here  to  explain  this  to  me ! "  God  is 
always  present.  He  understands  the  Bible  better 
than  any  human  teacher.  Take  your  difficulty 
to  Him  and  ask  Him  to  explain  it.  Jesus  said, 
"  When  He  the  Spirit  of  Truth  is  come.  He  shall 
guide  you  into  all  the  truth  "  (John  i6 :  13,  r.  v.). 
It  is  the  privilege  of  the  humblest  beUever  in 
Christ  to  have  the  Holy  Spirit  for  his  guide  in 
his  study  of  the  Word.  I  have  known  many 
very  humble  people,  people  with  almost  no  edu- 
cation, who  got  more  out  of  their  Bible  study 
than  most  of  the  great  theological  teachers  that 
I  have  known ;  simply  because  they  had  learned 
that  it  was  their  privilege  to  have  the  Holy  Spirit 
for  their  teacher  as  they  studied  the  Bible.  Com- 
mentaries on  the  Bible  are  oftentimes  of  great 
value,  but  one  will  learn  more  of  real  value  from 
the  Bible  by  having  the  Holy  Spirit  for  his 
teacher  when  he  studies  his  Bible  than  he  will 
from  all  the  commentaries  that  were  ever  pub- 
lished. 


Bible  Study  63 

8.  Improve  spare  moments  for  Bible  study. 
In  almost  every  man's  life  many  minutes  each 
day  are  lost,  while  waiting  for  meals,  riding  on 
trains,  going  from  place  to  place  in  street-cars 
and  so  forth.  Carry  a  pocket  Bible  or  Testa- 
ment w^ith  you  and  save  these  golden  moments 
by  putting  them  to  the  very  best  use,  listening 
to  the  voice  of  God. 

9.  Store  aivay  the  Scripture  in  your  mind  and 
heart.  It  will  keep  you  from  sin  (Ps.  119:  11, 
R.  V.) ;  from  false  doctrine  (Acts  20 :  29,  30,  32 ; 
2  Tim.  3  :  13-15).  It  will  fill  your,  heart  with  joy 
(Jer.  15  :  16) ;  and  peace  (Ps.  85  :  8).  It  will  give 
you  victory  over  the  evil  one  (i  John  2:  14);  it 
will  give  you  power  in  prayer  (John  15:7);  it 
will  make  you  wiser  than  the  aged  and  your 
enemies  (Ps.  1 19 :  98,  100,  1 30) ;  it  will  make  you 
•'  complete,  furnished  completely  unto  every  good 
work"  (2  Tim.  3:16,  17,  r.  v.).  Try  it.  Do 
not  memorize  at  random  but  memorize  Scripture 
in  a  connected  way ;  memorize  texts  bearing  on 
various  subjects  in  proper  order;  memorize  by 
chapter  and  verse  that  you  may  know  where  to 
put  your  finger  on  the  text  if  any  one  disputes  it. 
You  should  have  a  good  Bible  for  your  study. 
One  of  the  best  is  "  The  Oxford  Two  Version 
Bible,  Workers'  Edition." 


VIII 

DIFFICULTIES  IN  THE  BIBLE 

Sooner  or  later  every  young  Christian  comes 
across  passages  in  the  Bible  which  are  hard  to 
understand  and  difficult  to  believe.  To  many  a 
young  Christian,  these  difficulties  become  a 
serious  hindrance  in  the  development  of  their 
Christian  life.  For  days  and  weeks  and  months 
oftentimes  faith  suffers  partial  or  total  eclipse. 
At  just  this  point  wise  counsel  is  needed.  We 
have  no  desire  to  conceal  the  fact  that  these 
difficulties  exist.  We  rather  desire  to  frankly 
face  and  consider  them.  What  shall  we  do  con- 
cerning these  difficulties  that  every  thoughtful 
student  of  the  Bible  will  sooner  or  later  en- 
counter. 

I .  The  first  thing  we  have  to  say  about  these 
difficulties  is  that  from  the  very  nature  of  the  case 
difficulties  are  to  be  expected.  Some  people  are 
surprised  and  staggered  because  there  are  diffi- 
culties in  the  Bible.  I  would  be  more  surprised 
and  more  staggered  if  there  were  not.  What  is 
the  Bible?  It  is  a  revelation  of  the  mind  and 
will  and  character  and  being  of  the  infinitely 
great,  perfectly  wise,  and  absolutely  holy  God. 
64 


Difficulties  in  the  Bible  65 

But  to  whom  is  this  revelation  made  ?  To  men 
and  women  Hke  you  and  me,  to  finite  beings. 
To  men  who  are  imperfect  in  intellectual  de- 
velopment and  consequently  in  knowledge,  and 
in  character  and  consequently  in  spiritual  dis- 
cernment. 

There  must,  from  the  very  necessities  of  the 
case,  be  difficulties  in  such  a  revelation  made  to 
such  persons.  When  the  finite  tries  to  under- 
stand the  infinite  there  is  bound  to  be  difficulty. 
When  the  ignorant  contemplate  the  utterances 
of  one  perfect  in  knowledge  there  must  be  many 
things  hard  to  be  understood  and  some  things 
which  to  their  immature  and  inaccurate  minds 
appear  absurd.  When  sinful  beings  listen  to  the 
demands  of  an  absolutely  holy  being  they  are 
bound  to  be  staggered  at  some  of  His  demands, 
and  when  they  consider  His  dealings  they  are 
bound  to  be  staggered  at  some  of  His  dealings. 
These  dealings  will  necessarily  appear  too  severe, 
stern,  harsh,  terrific.  It  is  plain  that  there  must 
be  difficulties  for  us  in  such  a  revelation  as  the 
Bible  is  proven  to  be.  If  some  one  should  hand 
me  a  book  that  was  as  simple  as  the  multiplica- 
tion table  and  say,  "  This  is  the  Word  of  God,  in 
which  He  has  revealed  His  whole  will  and  wis- 
dom," I  would  shake  my  head  and  say,  "  I  can- 
not believe  it.  That  is  too  easy  to  be  a  perfect 
revelation  of  infinite  wisdom."     There  must  be 


66     How  to  Succeed  in  the  Christian  Life 

in  any  complete  revelation  of  God's  mind  and 
will  and  character  and  being,  things  hard  for  a 
beginner  to  understand,  and  the  wisest  and  best 
of  us  are  but  beginners. 

2.  The  second  thing  to  be  said  about  these 
difficulties  is  that  a  difficulty  in  a  doctrine, 
or  a  grave  objection  to  a  doctrine,  does  not  in 
any  wise  prove  the  doctrine  to  be  untrue.  Many- 
thoughtless  people  fancy  that  it  does.  If  they 
come  across  some  difficulty  in  the  way  of 
believing  in  the  divine  origin  and  absolute 
inerrancy  and  infallibility  of  the  Bible,  they  at 
once  conclude  that  the  doctrine  is  exploded. 
That  is  very  illogical.  Stop  a  moment  and 
think  and  learn  to  be  reasonable  and  fair. 
There  is  scarcely  a  doctrine  in  science  commonly 
believed  to-day  that  has  not  had  some  great 
difficulty  in  the  way  of  its  acceptance.  When 
the  Copernican  theory,  now  so  universally  ac- 
cepted, was  first  proclaimed,  it  encountered  a 
very  grave  difficulty.  If  this  theory  were  true 
the  planet  Venus  should  have  phases  as  the 
moon  has.  But  no  phases  could  be  discovered 
by  the  best  glass  then  in  existence.  But  the 
positive  argument  for  the  theory  was  so  strong 
that  it  was  accepted  in  spite  of  this  apparently 
unanswerable  objection.  When  a  more  powerful 
glass  was  made,  it  was  discovered  that  Venus  had 
phases  after  all.     The  whole  difficulty  arose,  as 


Difficulties  in  the  Bible  67 

all  those  in  the  Bible  arise,  from  man's  ignorance 
of  some  of  the  facts  in  the  case.  According  to 
the  common  sense  logic  recognized  in  every  de- 
partment of  science,  if  the  positive  proof  of  a 
theory  is  conclusive,  it  is  believed  by  rational 
men,  in  spite  of  any  number  of  difficulties  in 
minor  details.  Now  the  positive  proof  that  the 
Bible  is  the  Word  of  God,  that  it  is  an  absolutely 
trustworthy  revelation  from  God  Himself  of 
Himself,  His  purposes  and  His  will,  of  man's 
duty  and  destiny,  of  spiritual  and  eternal  real- 
ities, is  absolutely  conclusive.  Therefore  every 
rational  man  and  woman  must  believe  it  in  spite 
of  any  number  of  difficulties  in  minor  details. 
He  is  a  shallow  thinker  who  gives  up  a  well- 
attested  truth  because  of  some  facts  which  he 
cannot  reconcile  with  that  truth.  And  he  is  a 
very  shallow  Bible  scholar  who  gives  up  the 
divine  origin  and  inerrancy  of  the  Bible  because 
there  are  some  supposed  facts  that  he  cannot 
reconcile  with  that  doctrine. 

3.  Tlie  third  thing  to  be  said  about  the  diffi- 
culties in  the  Bible  is  that  there  are  many  more 
and  much  greater  difficulties  in  the  way  of  a 
doctrine  that  holds  the  Bible  to  be  of  hutnan 
origin,  a?id  hence  fallible,  than  are  in  the  way  of 
the  doctrine  that  holds  the  Bible  to  be  of  divine 
ongin  and  hence  altogether  trustworthy.  A  man 
may  bring  you  some  difficulty  and  say,  "  How 


68     How  to  Succeed  in  the  Christian  Life 

do  you  explain  that  if  the  Bible  is  the  Word  of 
God  ?  "  and  perhaps  you  may  not  be  able  to  an- 
swer him  satisfactorily.  Then  he  thinks  he  has 
you,  but  not  at  all.  Turn  on  him  and  ask  him 
how  do  you  account  for  the  fulfilled  prophecies 
of  the  Bible  if  it  is  of  human  origin  ?  How  do 
you  account  for  the  marvellous  unity  of  the 
Book  ?  How  do  you  account  for  its  inexhausti- 
ble depth  ?  How  do  you  account  for  its  unique 
power  in  lifting  men  up  to  God  ?  How  do  you 
account  for  the  history  of  the  Book,  its  victory 
over  all  men's  attacks,  etc.,  etc.,  etc.  For  every 
insignificant  objection  he  can  bring  to  your  view, 
you  can  bring  many  deeply  significant  objections 
to  his  view,  and  no  candid  man  will  have  any 
difficulty  in  deciding  between  the  two  views. 
The  difficulties  that  confront  one  who  denies 
that  the  Bible  is  of  divine  origin  and  authority 
are  far  more  numerous  and  weighty  than  those 
that  confront  the  ones  who  believes  it  is  of 
divine  origin  and  authority. 

4.  The  fourth  thing  to  be  said  about  the  diffi- 
culties in  the  Bible  is  the  fact  that  you  cannot 
solve  a  difficulty  does  not  prove  that  it  cannot  be 
solved,  and  the  fact  that  you  canjiot  answer  an 
objection  does  not  prove  at  all  that  it  caniiot  be 
answered.  It  is  passing  strange  how  often  we 
overlook  this  very  evident  fact.  There  are  many 
who,  when  they  meet  a  difficulty  in  the  Bible  and 


DlfTiculties  in  the  Bible  69 

give  it  a  little  thought  and  can  see  no  possible 
solution,  at  once  jump  at  the  conckision  that  a 
solution  is  impossible  by  any  one,  and  so  throw 
up  their  faith  in  the  reliability  of  the  Bible  and  in 
its  divine  origin.  A  little  more  of  that  modesty 
that  is  becoming  in  beings  so  limited  in  knowl- 
edge as  we  all  are  would  have  led  them  to  say, 
"  Though  I  see  no  possible  solution  to  this  diffi- 
culty, some  one  a  little  wiser  than  I  might  easily 
find  one."  Oh  !  if  we  would  only  bear  in  mind 
that  we  do  not  know  everything,  and  that  there 
are  a  great  many  things  that  we  cannot  solve  now 
that  we  could  easily  solve  if  we  only  knew  a  little 
more.  Above  all,  we  ought  never  to  forget  that 
there  may  be  a  very  easy  solution  to  infinite 
wisdom  of  that  which  to  our  finite  wisdom — or 
ignorance — appears  absolutely  insoluble.  What 
would  we  think  of  a  beginner  in  algebra  who, 
having  tried  in  vain  for  half  an  hour  to  solve  a 
difficult  problem,  declared  that  there  was  no  pos- 
sible solution  to  the  problem  because  he  could 
find  none?  A  man  of  much  experience  and 
ability  once  left  his  work  and  came  a  long  dis- 
tance to  see  me  in  great  perturbation  of  spirit 
because  he  had  discovered  what  seemed  to  him  a 
flat  contradiction  in  the  Bible.  It  had  defied  all 
his  attempts  at  reconciliation,  but  in  a  few  mo- 
ments he  was  shown  a  very  simple  and  satisfactory 
solution  of  the  difficulty. 


yo     How  to  Succeed  in  the  Christian  Life 

5.  The  fifth  thing  to  be  said  about  the  difficul- 
ties in  the  Bible'  is  that  the  seeming  defects  in  the 
book  are  exceedingly  insignificant  when  put  in 
comparison  zvith  its  many  and  marvellous  ex- 
cellencies. It  certainly  reveals  great  perv^ersity 
of  both  mind  and  heart  that  men  spend  so  much 
time  expatiating  on  the  insignificant  points  that 
they  consider  defects  in  the  Bible,  and  pass  by 
absolutely  unnoticed  the  incomparable  beauties 
and  wonders  that  adorn  and  glorify  almost  every 
page.  What  would  we  think  of  any  man,  who 
in  studying  some  great  masterpiece  of  art,  con- 
centrated his  entire  attention  upon  what  looked 
to  him  like  a  fly-speck  in  the  corner.  A  large 
proportion  of  what  is  vaunted  as  "  critical  study 
of  the  Bible  "  is  a  laborious  and  scholarly  investi- 
gation of  supposed  fly- specks  and  an  entire  ne- 
glect of  the  countless  glories  of  the  book. 

6.  The  sixth  thing  to  be  said  about  the  diffi- 
culties in  the  Bible  is  that  the  difficulties  in  the 
Bible  have  far  more  weight  with  supejficial  read- 
ers of  it  than  with  profoiind  students.  Take  a 
man  who  is  totally  ignorant  of  the  real  contents 
and  meaning  of  the  Bible  and  devotes  his  whole 
strength  to  discovering  apparent  inconsistencies 
in  it,  to  such  superficial  students  of  the  Bible 
these  difificulties  seem  of  immense  importance ; 
but  to  the  one  who  has  learned  to  meditate  on 
the  Word  of  God  day  and  night  they  have  scarce 


Difficulties  in  the  Bible  71 

any  weight  at  all.  That  mighty  man  of  God, 
George  Miiller,  who  had  carefully  studied  the 
Bible  from  beginning  to  end  more  than  a  hun- 
dred times,  was  not  disturbed  by  any  difficulties 
he  encountered.  But  to  the  one  who  is  reading 
it  through  carefully  for  the  first  or  second  time 
there  are  many  things  that  perplex  and  stagger. 

7.  TJie  seventh  thing  to  be  said  about  the  diffi- 
culties in  the  Bible  is  that  tlicy  rapidly  disappear 
upoTi  carefid  and  prayerful  study.  How  many 
things  there  are  in  the  Bible  that  once  puzzled 
us  and  staggered  us  that  have  been  perfectly 
cleared  up,  and  no  longer  present  any  difficulty 
at  all !  Is  it  not  reasonable  to  suppose  that  the 
difficulties  that  still  remain  will  also  disappear 
upon  further  study  ? 

How  shall  we  deal  with  the  difficulties  which 
we  do  find  in  the  Bible  ? 

1.  First  of  all,  honestly.  Whenever  you  find 
a  difficulty  in  the  Bible,  frankly  acknowledge  it. 
If  you  cannot  give  a  good  honest  explanation, 
do  not  attempt  as  yet  to  give  any  at  all. 

2.  Humbly.  Recognize  the  limitations  of 
your  own  mind  and  knowledge,  and  do  not 
imagine  there  is  no  solution  just  because  you 
have  found  none.  There  is  in  all  probability  a 
very  simple  solution.  You  will  find  it  some 
day,  though  at  present  you  can  find  no  solution 
at  all. 


72     How  to  Succeed  in  the  Christian  Life 

3.  Determinedly.  Make  up  your  mind  that 
you  will  find  the  solution  if  you  can  by  any 
amount  of  study  and  hard  thinking.  The  diffi- 
culties in  the  Bible  are  your  heavenly  Father's 
challenge  to  you  to  set  your  brains  to  work. 

4.  Fearlessly.  Do  not  be  frightened  when 
you  find  a  difficulty,  no  matter  how  unanswerable 
it  appears  upon  first  glance.  Thousands  have 
found  such  before  you.  They  were  seen  hun- 
dreds of  years  ago  and  still  the  Old  Book  stands. 
You  are  not  likely  to  discover  any  difficulty  that 
was  not  discovered  and  probably  settled  long  be- 
fore you  were  born,  though  you  do  not  know 
just  where  to  lay  your  hand  upon  the  solution. 
The  Bible  which  has  stood  eighteen  centuries  of 
rigid  examination  and  incessant  and  awful  assault, 
is  not  going  under  before  any  discoveries  that 
you  make  or  any  attacks  of  modern  infidels. 
All  modern  infidel  attacks  upon  the  Bible  are 
simply  a  revamping  of  old  objections  that  have 
been  disposed  of  a  hundred  times  in  the  past. 
These  old  objections  will  prove  no  more  effective 
in  their  new  clothes  than  they  did  in  the  cast-off 
garments  of  the  past. 

5.  Patiently.  Do  not  be  discouraged  because 
you  do  not  solve  every  problem  in  a  day.  If 
some  difficulty  defies  your  best  effort,  lay  it  aside 
for  awhile.  Very  likely  when  you  come  back  to 
it,  it  will  have  disappeared  and  you  will  wonder 


Difficulties  in  the  Bible  73 

how  you  were  ever  perplexed  by  it.  The  writer 
often  has  to  smile  to-day  when  he  thinks  how 
sorely  he  was  perplexed  in  the  past  over  ques- 
tions which  are  now  as  clear  as  day. 

6.  Scripturally .  If  you  find  a  difficulty  in 
one  part  of  the  Bible,  look  for  other  Scripture  to 
throw  light  upon  it  and  dissolve  it.  Nothing 
explains  Scripture  like  Scripture.  Never  let 
apparently  obscure  passages  of  Scripture  darken 
the  light  that  comes  from  clear  passages,  rather 
let  the  light  that  comes  from  the  clear  passage 
illuminate  the  darkness  that  seems  to  surround 
the  obscure  passage. 

7.  Prayerfully.  It  is  wonderful  how  difficul- 
ties dissolve  when  one  looks  at  them  on  his 
knees.  One  great  reason  why  some  modern 
scholars  have  learned  to  be  destructive  critics  is 
because  they  have  forgotten  how  to  pray. 


IX 

PRAYER 

The  one  who  would  succeed  in  the  Christian 
life  must  lead  a  life  of  prayer.  Very  much  of 
the  failure  in  Christian  living  to-day,  and  in 
Christian  work,  results  from  neglect  of  prayer. 
Very  few  Christians  spend  as  much  time  in 
prayer  as  they  ought.  The  Apostle  James  told 
believers  in  his  day  that  the  secret  of  the  poverty 
and  powerlessness  of  their  lives  and  service  was 
neglect  of  prayer.  "  Ye  have  not,"  says  God 
through  the  Apostle  James,  "  because  ye  ask 
not."  So  it  is  to-day.  Why  is  it,  many  a  Chris- 
tian is  asking,  that  I  make  such  poor  headway  in 
my  Christian  life  ?  Why  do  I  have  so  little  vic- 
tory over  sin  ?  Why  do  I  accomplish  so  little  by 
my  effort  ?  and  God  answers,  "  You  have  not  be- 
cause you  ask  not." 

It  is  easy  enough  to  lead  a  life  of  prayer  if  one 
only  sets  about  it.  Set  apart  some  time  each  day 
for  prayer.  The  rule  of  David  and  of  Daniel  is 
a  good  one ;  three  times  a  day.  "  Evening  and 
morning  and  at  noon,"  says  David,  "  will  I  pray 
and  cry  aloud  and  He  shall  hear  my  voice" 
(Ps.  55  :  17).  Of  Daniel  we  read,  "Now  when 
74 


Prayer  75 

Daniel  knew  that  the  writing  was  signed,  he 
went  into  his  house ;  and  his  windows  being 
open  in  his  chamber  towards  Jerusalem,  he 
kneeled  upon  his  knees  three  times  a  day,  and 
prayed,  and  gave  thanks  before  his  God  as  he  did 
aforetime"  (Dan.  6 :  10).  Of  course,  one  can 
pray  while  walking  the  street,  or  riding  in  the 
car,  or  sitting  at  his  desk,  and  one  should  learn 
to  lift  his  heart  to  God  right  in  the  busiest  mo- 
ments of  his  life,  but  we  need  set  times  of  prayer, 
times  when  we  go  alone  with  God,  shut  to  the 
door  and  talk  to  our  Father  in  the  secret  place 
(Matt.  6  :  6).  God  is  in  the  secret  place  and  will 
meet  with  us  there  and  listen  to  our  petitions. 

Prayer  is  a  wonderful  privilege.  It  is  an  au- 
dience with  the  King.  It  is  talking  to  our  Father. 
How  strange  it  is  that  people  should  ask  the 
question,  '♦  How  much  time  ought  I  to  spend  in 
prayer?"  When  a  subject  is  summoned  to  an 
audience  with  his  king,  he  never  asks,  •'  How 
much  time  must  I  spend  with  the  king  ?  "  His 
question  is  rather,  "  How  much  time  will  the  king 
give  me?"  And  with  any  true  child  of  God 
who  realizes  what  prayer  really  is,  that  it  is  an 
audience  with  the  King  of  Kings,  the  question 
will  never  be,  "  How  much  time  must  I  spend  in 
prayer,"  but  "  How  much  time  may  I  spend  in 
prayer  with  a  due  regard  to  other  duties  and 
privileges?" 


76     How  to  Succeed  in  the  Christian  Life 

Begin  the  day  with  thanksgiving  and  prayer. 
Thanksgiving  for  the  definite  mercies  of  the  past, 
prayer  for  the  definite  needs  of  the  present  day. 
Think  of  the  temptations  that  you  are  hkely  to 
meet  during  the  day  ;  ask  God  to  show  you  the 
temptations  that  you  are  Hkely  to  meet  and  get 
from  God  strength  for  victory  over  these  tempta- 
tions before  the  temptations  come.  The  reason 
why  many  fail  in  the  battle  is  because  they  wait 
until  the  hour  of  battle.  The  reason  why-others 
succeed  is  because  they  have  gained  their  victory 
on  their  knees  long  before  the  battle  came.  Jesus 
conquered  in  the  awful  battles  of  Pilate's  judg- 
ment hall  and  of  the  cross  because  He  had  the 
night  before  in  prayer  anticipated  the  battle  and 
gained  the  victory  before  the  struggle  really 
came.  He  had  told  His  disciples  to  do  the  same. 
He  had  bidden  them  "  Pray  that  ye  enter  not 
into  temptation  "  (Luke  22  :  40),  but  they  had 
slept  when  they  ought  to  have  prayed,  and  when 
the  hour  of  temptation  came  they  fell.  Antici- 
pate your  battles,  fight  them  on  your  knees  be- 
fore temptation  comes  and  you  will  always  have 
victory.  At  the  very  outset  of  the  day,  get 
counsel  and  strength  from  God  Himself  for  the 
duties  of  the  day. 

Never  let  the  rush  of  business  crowd  out 
prayer.  The  more  work  that  any  day  has  to  do, 
the  more  time  must  be  spent  in  prayer  in  prep- 


Prayer  77 

aration  for  that  work.  You  will  not  lose  time  by 
it,  you  will  save  time  by  it.  Prayer  is  the  great- 
est time  saver  known  to  man.  The  more  the 
work  crowds  you  the  more  time  take  for 
prayer. 

Stop  in  the  midst  of  the  bustle  and  hurry  and 
temptation  of  the  day  for  thanksgiving  and 
prayer.  A  few  minutes  spent  alone  with  God  at 
midday  will  go  far  to  keep  you  calm  in  the  midst 
of  the  worries  and  anxieties  of  modern  life. 

Close  the  day  with  thanksgiving  and  prayer. 
Review  all  the  blessings  of  the  day  and  thank 
God  in  detail  for  them.  Nothing  goes  farther  to 
increase  faith  in  God  and  in  His  Word  than  a 
calm  review  at  the  close  of  each  day  of  what  God 
has  done  for  you  that  day.  Nothing  goes  further 
towards  bringing  new  and  larger  blessings  from 
God  than  intelligent  thanksgiving  for  blessings 
already  granted. 

The  last  thing  you  do  each  day  ask  God  to 
show  you  if  there  has  been  anything  in  the  day 
that  has  been  displeasing  in  His  sight.  Then 
wait  quietly  before  God  and  give  God  an  oppor- 
tunity to  speak  to  you.  Listen.  Do  not  be  in 
a  hurry.  If  God  shows  you  anything  in  the  day 
that  has  been  displeasing  in  His  sight,  confess  it 
fully  and  frankly  as  to  a  holy  and  loving  Father. 
Believe  that  God  forgives  it  all,  for  He  says  He 
does  (i  John  i  :  9).     Thus  at  the  close  of  each 


yS     How  to  Succeed  in  the  Christian  Life 

day  all  your  accounts  with  God  will  be  straight- 
ened out.  You  can  lie  down  and  sleep  in  the 
glad  consciousness  that  there  is  not  a  cloud  be- 
tween you  and  God.  You  can  arise  the  next 
day  to  begin  Hfe  anew  with  a  clean  balance  sheet. 
Do  this  and  you  can  never  backslide  for  more 
than  twenty-four  hours.  Indeed,  you  will  not 
backslide  at  all.  It  is  very  hard  to  straighten  out 
accounts  in  business  that  have  been  allowed  to 
get  crooked  through  a  prolonged  period.  No 
bank  ever  closes  its  business  day  until  its  balance 
is  found  to  be  absolutely  correct.  And  no  Chris- 
tian should  close  a  single  day  until  his  accounts 
with  God  for  that  day  have  been  perfectly  ad- 
justed alone  with  Him. 

There  should  be  special  prayer  in  special 
temptation — that  is  when  we  see  the  temptation 
approaching.  If  you  possibly  can,  get  at  once 
alone  somewhere  with  God  and  fight  your  battle 
out.  Keep  looking  to  God.  "  Pray  without  ceas- 
ing "  (i  Thess.  5  :  17).  It  is  not  needful  to  be 
on  your  knees  all  the  time  but  the  heart  should 
be  on  its  knees  all  the  time.  We  should  be 
often  on  our  knees  or  on  our  faces  literally.  This 
is  a  joyous  life,  free  from  worry  and  care.  "  In 
nothing  be  anxious ;  but  in  everything  by 
prayer  and  supplication  with  thanksgiving,  let 
your  request  be  made  known  unto  God,  and  the 
peace  of  God  which  passeth  all  understanding 


Prayer  79 

shall  guard  your  hearts  and  thoughts  in  Christ 
Jesus  "  (Phil.  4 :  6,  7,  r.  v.). 

There  are  three  things  for  which  one  who 
would  succeed  in  the  Christian  life  must  espe- 
cially pray.  i.  For  wisdom.  "  If  any  of  you 
lack  wisdom  (and  we  all  do)  let  him  ask  of  God  " 
(James  i  :  5).  2.  For  strength.  "  For  they 
that  wait  upon  the  Lord  shall  renew  their 
strength  "  (Is.  40:  31).  3.  For  the  Holy  Spirit. 
"  Your  heavenly  Father  shall  give  the  Holy 
Spirit  to  them  that  ask  Him "  (Luke  11:  13). 
Even  if  you  have  received  the  Holy  Spirit, 
you  should  constantly  pray  for  a  new  filling 
with  the  Holy  Spirit  and  definitely  expect  to 
receive  it.  We  need  a  new  filHng  with  the 
Spirit  for  every  new  emergency  of  Christian  life 
and  Christian  service.  The  Apostle  Peter  was 
baptized  and  filled  with  the  Holy  Spirit  on  the 
Day  of  Pentecost  (Acts  2 :  1-4)  but  he  was  filled 
anew  in  Acts  4:  8  and  Acts  4:  31,  There  are 
many  Christians  in  the  world  who  once  had  a 
very  definite  baptism  with  the  Holy  Spirit  and 
had  great  joy  and  were  wonderfully  used,  but 
who  have  tried  to  go  ever  since  in  the  power  of 
that  baptism  received  years  ago,  and  to-day  their 
lives  are  comparatively  joyless  and  powerless. 
We  need  constantly  to  get  new  supplies  of  oil 
for  our  lamps.  We  get  these  new  supplies  of 
oil  by  asking  for  them. 


8o     How  to  Succeed  in  the  Christian  Life 

It  is  not  enough  that  we  have  our  times  of 
secret  prayer  to  God  alone  with  Him,  we  also 
need  fellowship  with  others  in  prayer.  If  they 
have  a  prayer-meeting  in  your  church  attend  it 
regularly.  Attend  it  for  your  own  sake ;  attend 
it  for  the  sake  of  the  church.  If  it  is  a  prayer- 
meeting  only  in  name  and  not  in  fact,  use  your 
influence  quietly  and  constantly  (not  obtrusively) 
to  make  it  a  real  prayer-meeting.  Keep  the 
prayer-meeting  night  sacredly  for  that  purpose. 
Refuse  all  social  engagements  for  that  night.  A 
major-general  in  the  United  States  army  once 
took  command  of  the  forces  in  a  new  district. 
A  reception  was  arranged  for  him  for  a  certain 
night  in  the  week.  When  he  was  informed  of 
this  public  reception  he  replied  that  that  was 
prayer-meeting  night  and  everything  else  had  to 
give  way  for  prayer-meeting,  that  he  could  not 
attend  the  reception  on  that  night.  That  gen- 
eral had  proved  himself  a  man  that  can  be  de- 
pended upon.  The  Church  of  Christ  in  America 
owes  more  to  him  than  to  almost  any  other 
officer  in  the  American  army.  Ministers  learn 
to  depend  upon  their  prayer-meeting  members. 
The  prayer-meeting  is  the  most  important  meet- 
ing in  the  church.  If  your  church  has  no 
prayer-meeting,  use  your  influence  to  have  one. 
It  does  not  take  many  members  to  make  a  good 


Prayer  8l 

prayer-meeting.     You   can   start  with   two  but 
work  for  many. 

It  is  well  to  have  a  httle  company  of  Christian 
friends  with  whom  you  are  in  real  sympathy  and 
with  whom  you  meet  regularly  every  week 
simply  for  prayer.  There  has  been  nothing  of 
more  importance  in  the  development  of  my  own 
spiritual  life  of  recent  years  than  a  little  prayer- 
meeting  of  less  than  a  dozen  friends  who  have 
met  every  Saturday  night  for  years.  We  met 
and  together  we  waited  upon  God.  If  my  life 
has  been  of  any  use  to  the  Master,  I  attribute  it 
largely  to  that  prayer-meeting.  Happy  is  the 
young  Christian  that  has  a  little  band  of  friends 
like  that  that  meet  together  regularly  for  prayer.^ 

^  If  any  reader  desires  more  full  and  definite  instruction  on 
the  subject  of  prayer  he  is  referred  to  the  author's  book, "  How 
to  Pray." 


X 

WORKING  FOR  CHRIST 

One  of  the  important  conditions  of  growth 
and  strength  in  the  Christian  life  is  work.  No 
man  can  keep  up  his  physical  strength  without 
exercise  and  no  man  can  keep  up  his  spiritual 
strength  without  spiritual  exercise,  /.  ^.,  without 
working  for  his  Master.  The  working  Christian  is 
the  happy  Christian.  The  working  Christian  is 
the  strong  Christian.  Some  Christians  never 
backslide  because  they  are  too  busy  about  their 
Master's  business  to  backslide.  Many  professed 
Christians  do  backslide  because  they  are  too  idle 
to  do  anything  but  backslide.  Jesus  said  to  the 
first  disciples,  "  Follow  Me  and  I  will  make  you 
fishers  of  men  "  (Matt.  4:  19).  Any  one  who  is 
not  a  fisher  of  men  is  not  following  Christ. 
Bearing  fruit  in  bringing  others  to  the  Saviour 
is  the  purpose  for  which  Jesus  has  chosen  us  and 
is  one  of  the  most  important  conditions  of  power 
in  prayer.  Jesus  says  in  John  15  :  16,  "  Ye  have 
not  chosen  Me,  but  I  have  chosen  you  and  or- 
dained you  that  ye  should  go  and  bring  forth 
fruit,  and  that  your  fruit  should  remain,  that 
whatsoever  ye  shall  ask  of  the  Father  in  My 
82 


Working  for  Christ  83 

name  He  may  give  it  you!'  These  words  of 
Jesus  are  very  plain.  They  tell  us  that  the  one 
who  is  bearing  fruit  is  the  one  who  can  pray  in 
the  name  of  Christ  and  get  what  he  asks  in  that 
name.  In  the  same  chapter  Jesus  tells  us  that 
bearing  fruit  in  His  strength  is  the  condition  of 
fullness  of  joy.  He  says,  "  These  things  have  I 
spoken  unto  you  (that  is,  the  things  about  abid- 
ing in  Him  and  bearing  fruit  in  His  strength) 
that  My  joy  might  remain  in  you  and  that  your 
joy  might  be  full"  (John  15  :  11).  Experience 
abundantly  proves  the  truth  of  these  words  of 
our  Master.  Those  who  are  full  of  activity  in 
winning  others  to  Christ  are  those  who  are  full 
of  joy  in  Christ  Himself. 

If  you  wish  to  be  a  happy  Christian ;  if  you 
wish  to  be  a  strong  Christian,  if  you  wish  to  be 
a  Christian  who  is  mighty  in  prayer,  begin  at 
once  to  work  for  the  Master  and  never  let  a  day 
pass  without  doing  some  definite  work  for  Him. 
But  how  can  a  young  Christian  work  for  Him  ? 
How  can  a  young  Christian  bear  fruit?  The 
answer  is  very  simple  and  very  easy  to  follow. 
You  can  bear  fruit  for  your  Master  by  going  to 
others  and  telling  them  what  your  Saviour  has 
done  for  you,  and  by  urging  them  to  accept  this 
same  Saviour  and  showing  them  how  to  do  it. 
There  is  no  other  work  in  the  world  that  is  so 
easy  to  do,  so  joyous,  and  so  abundant  in  its 


84     How  to  Succeed  in  the  Christian  Life 

fruitfulness,  as  personal  hand  to  hand  work.  The 
youngest  Christian  can  do  personal  work.  Of 
course,  he  cannot  do  it  so  well  as  he  will  do  it 
later,  after  he  has  had  more  practice.  But  the 
way  to  learn  how  to  do  it  is  by  doing  it.  I  have 
known  thousands  of  Christians  all  around  the 
world  who  have  begun  to  work  for  Christ,  and 
to  bring  others  to  Christ,  the  very  day  that  they 
were  converted.  How  often  young  men  and 
young  women,  yes,  and  old  men  and  old  women 
too,  have  come  to  me  and  said, "  I  accepted  Jesus 
Christ  last  night  as  my  Saviour,  my  Lord  and 
my  King,  and  to-night  I  have  led  a  friend  to 
Christ."  Then  the  next  day  they  would  come 
and  tell  me  of  some  one  else  they  had  led  to 
Christ.  When  we  were  in  Sheffield,  a  young 
man  working  in  a  warehouse  accepted  Christ. 
Before  the  month's  mission  in  Sheffield  was  over 
he  had  led  thirty  others  to  Christ,  many  of  them 
in  the  same  warehouse  where  he  himself  worked. 
This  is  but  one  instance  among  many.  There 
are  many  books  that  tell  how  to  do  personal 
work.^ 

But  one  does  not  need  to  wait  until  they  have 
read  some  book  on  the  subject  before  they  begin. 
One  of  the  commonest  and  greatest  mistakes  that 

'  The  author  has  written  a  little  book  on  this  line  named 
"  How  to  Bring  Men  to  Christ "  that  has  proved  helpful  to 
many. 


Working  for  Christ  85 

is  made  is  that  of  frittering  one's  life  away  in 
getting  ready  to  get  ready  to  get  ready.  Some 
never  do  get  ready.  The  way  to  get  ready  is  to 
begin  at  once.  Make  up  your  mind  that  you 
will  speak  about  accepting  Christ  to  at  least  one 
person  every  day.  Early  in  his  Christian  life 
Mr.  Moody  made  this  resolution  that  he  would 
never  let  a  day  pass  over  his  head  without  speak- 
ing to  at  least  one  person  about  Christ.  One 
night  he  was  returning  late  from  his  work.  As 
he  got  near  home  it  occurred  to  him  that  he  had 
not  spoken  to  any  one  that  day.  He  said  to 
himself,  "  It  is  too  late  now.  I  will  not  get  an 
opportunity.  Here  will  be  one  day  gone  with- 
out my  speaking  to  any  one  about  Christ."  But 
a  little  ways  ahead  of  him  he  saw  a  man  standing 
under  a  lamp-post.  He  said,  "  Here  is  my  last 
opportunity."  The  man  was  a  stranger  to  him, 
though  he  knew  who  Mr.  Moody  was.  Mr. 
Moody  hurried  up  to  him  and  asked  him,  "  Are 
you  a  Christian  ?  "  The  man  replied,  "  That  is 
none  of  your  business.  If  you  were  not  a  sort 
of  a  preacher  I  would  knock  you  into  the  gutter." 
But  Mr.  Moody  spoke  a  kw  faithful  words  to 
him  and  passed  on.  The  next  day  this  man 
called  on  one  of  Mr.  Moody's  business  friends  in 
Chicago  in  great  indignation.  He  said,  "  That 
man  Moody  of  yours  over  on  the  Northside  is 
doing  more  harm  than  he  is  good.     He  has  zeal 


86     How  to  Succeed  in  the  Christian  Life 

without  knowledge.  He  came  up  to  me  last 
night,  a  perfect  stranger,  and  asked  me  if  I  was 
a  Christian.  He  insulted  me.  I  told  him  if 
he  had  not  been  a  sort  of  preacher  I  would  have 
knocked  him  into  the  gutter."  Mr.  Moody's 
friend  called  him  in  and  said  to  him,  "  Moody, 
you  are  doing  more  harm  than  good.  You  have 
zeal  without  knowledge.  You  insulted  a  friend 
of  mine  on  the  street  last  night."  Mr.  Moody 
went  out  somewhat  crestfallen,  feeling  that  per- 
haps he  was  doing  more  harm  than  good,  that 
perhaps  he  did  have  zeal  without  knowledge. 
But  some  weeks  after,  late  at  night,  there  was  a 
great  pounding  on  his  door.  Mr.  Moody  got 
out  of  bed  and  rushed  to  the  door  supposing 
that  the  house  was  on  fire.  That  same  man 
stood  at  the  door.  He  said,  "  Mr.  Moody,  I 
have  not  had  a  night's  rest  since  you  spoke  to 
me  that  night  under  the  lamp-post  and  I  have 
come  around  for  you  to  tell  me  what  to  do  to  be 
saved."  Mr.  Moody  had  the  joy  that  night  of 
leading  that  man  to  Christ.  It  is  better  to  have 
zeal  without  knowledge  than  to  have  knowledge 
without  zeal,  but  it  is  better  yet  to  have  zeal 
with  knowledge,  and  any  one  may  have  this. 
The  way  to  get  knowledge  is  by  experience,  and 
the  way  to  get  experience  is  by  doing  the  work. 
The  man  who  is  so  afraid  of  making  blunders 
that  he  never  does  anything,  never  learns  any- 


Working  for  Christ  87 

thing.  The  man  who  goes  ahead  and  does  his 
best  and  is  wilHng  to  risk  the  blunders,  is  the 
man  who  learns  to  avoid  the  blunders  in  the 
future.  Some  of  the  most  gifted  men  I  have 
ever  known  have  never  really  accomplished  any- 
thing, they  were  so  fearful  of  making  blunders. 
Some  of  the  most  useful  men  I  have  ever  known 
were  men  who  at  the  outset  were  the  least  prom- 
ising, but  who  had  a  real  love  for  souls  and  went 
on,  at  first  in  a  blundering  way,  but  they  blun- 
dered on  until  they  learned  by  experience  to  do 
things  well.  Do  not  be  discouraged  by  your 
blunders.  Pitch  in  and  keep  pegging  away. 
Every  honest  mistake  is  but  a  stepping-stone  to 
future  success.  Try  every  day  to  lead  some  one 
else  to  Christ.  Of  course,  you  will  not  succeed 
every  day,  but  the  work  will  do  you  good  any 
way,  and  years  after  you  will  often  find  that 
where  you  thought  you  have  made  the  greatest 
blunders,  you  have  accomplished  the  best  results. 
The  man  who  gets  angriest  at  you,  will  often 
turn  out  in  the  end  the  man  who  is  most  grate- 
ful to  you.  Be  patient  and  hope  on.  Never  be 
discouraged. 

Make  a  prayer  list.  Go  alone  with  God. 
Write  down  at  the  top  of  a  sheet  of  paper, 
"  God  helping  me,  I  promise  to  pray  daily  and 
to  work  persistently  for  the  conversion  of  the  fol- 
lowing   persons."     Then   kneel   down   and   ask 


88     How  to  Succeed  in  the  Christian  Life 

God  to  show  you  who  to  put  on  that  list.  Do 
not  make  the  list  so  long  that  your  prayer  and 
work  become  mechanical  and  superficial.  After 
you  have  made  the  list  keep  your  covenant, 
really  pray  for  them  every  day.  Watch  for  op- 
portunities to  speak  to  them — improve  these 
opportunities.  You  may  have  to  watch  long  for 
your  opportunities  with  some  of  them,  and  you 
may  have  to  speak  often,  but  never  give  up.  I 
prayed  about  fifteen  years  for  one  man,  one  of 
the  most  discouraging  men  I  ever  met,  but  I  saw 
that  man  converted  at  last,  and  I  saw  him  a 
preacher  of  the  gospel,  and  many  others  were 
converted  through  his  preaching,  and  now  he  is 
in  the  Glory. 

Learn  to  use  tracts.  Get  a  few  good  tracts 
that  are  fitted  to  meet  the  needs  of  different 
kinds  of  people.  Then  hand  these  tracts  out  to 
the  people  whose  needs  they  are  adapted  to  meet. 
Follow  your  tracts  up  with  prayer  and  with  per- 
spnal  effort. 

Go  to  your  pastor  and  ask  him  if  there  is  some 
work  he  would  like  to  have  you  do  for  him  in 
the  church.  Be  a  person  that  your  pastor  can 
depend  upon.  We  live  in  a  day  in  which  there 
are  many  kinds  of  work  going  on  outside  the 
church,  and  many  of  these  kinds  of  work  are 
good  and  you  should  take  part  in  them  as  you 
are  able,  but  never  forget  that  your  first  duty  is 


Working  for  Christ  89 

to  the  church  of  which  you  arc  a  member.  Be  a 
person  that  your  pastor  can  count  on.  It  may 
be  that  your  pastor  may  not  want  to  use  you, 
but  at  least  give  him  the  chance  of  refusing  you. 
If  he  does  refuse  you,  don't  be  discouraged,  but 
find  work  somewhere  else.  There  is  plenty  to 
do  and  few  to  do  it.  It  is  as  true  to-day  as  it  was 
in  the  days  of  our  Saviour,  "  The  harvest  truly  is 
plenteous  but  the  labourers  are  few  "  (Matt.  9 :  37), 
•'  Pray  therefore  the  Lord  of  the  harvest  that  He 
will  send  forth  labourers  into  His  harvest,"  and 
pray  that  He  will  send  you  (Matt.  9 :  38).  The 
right  kind  of  men  are  needed  in  the  ministry.  The 
right  kind  of  men  and  women  are  needed  for  foreign 
mission  work,  but  you  may  not  be  the  right  kind 
of  a  man  or  woman  for  foreign  missionary  work, 
but  none  the  less  there  is  work  for  you  to  do  just 
as  important  in  its  place  as  the  work  of  the  min- 
ister or  the  missionary  is.  See  that  you  fill  your 
place  and  fill  it  well.^ 

1  The  author's  book,  "  How  to  Work  for  Christ,"  is  a  large 
work  describing  at  length  many  ways  of  working  for  our 
Master. 


XI 

FOREIGN  MISSIONS 

In  order  to  have  the  largest  success  in  the 
Christian  Hfe  one  must  be  interested  in  foreign 
missions.  The  last  command  of  our  Lord  before 
leaving  this  earth  was,  "  Go  ye  therefore,  and 
make  disciples  of  all  the  nations,  baptizing  them 
into  the  name  of  the  Father,  and  of  the  Son  and 
of  the  Holy  Ghost :  teaching  them  to  observe  all 
things  whatsoever  I  have  commanded  you :  and 
lo,  I  am  with  you  alway  even  unto  the  end  of  the 
world  "  (Matt  28  :  19,  20,  r.  v.).  Here  is  a  com- 
mand and  a  promise.  It  is  one  of  the  sweetest 
promises  in  the  Bible.  But  the  enjoyment  of  the 
promise  is  conditioned  upon  obedience  to  the 
command.  Our  Lord  commands  every  one  of 
His  disciples  to  go  and  "  make  disciples  "  of  all 
the  nations.  This  command  was  not  given  to  the 
apostles  alone,  but  to  every  member  of  Christ's 
church  in  all  ages.  If  we  go,  then  Christ  will  be 
with  us  even  unto  the  end  of  the  age  ;  but,  if  we 
do  not  go,  we  have  no  right  to  count  upon  His 
companionship.  Are  you  going  ?  How  can  we 
go  ?  There  are  three  ways  in  which  we  can  go, 
and  in  at  least  two  of  these  ways  we  must  go  if 
90 


Foreign  Missions  91 

we  are  to  enjoy  the  wonderful  privilege  of  the 
personal  companionship  of  Jesus  Christ  every 
day  unto  the  end  of  the  age. 

I .  First,  inany  of  us  can  go  in  our  ozvn  per- 
sons. Many  of  us  ought  to  go.  God  does  not 
call  every  one  of  us  to  go  as  foreign  missionaries, 
but  He  does  call  many  of  us  to  go  who  are  not 
responding  to  the  call.  Every  Christian  should 
offer  himself  for  the  foreign  field  and  leave  the 
responsibility  of  choosing  him  or  refusing  him 
to  the  all-wise  One,  God  Himself.  No  Christian 
has  a  right  to  stay  at  home  until  he  has  gone  and 
offered  himself  definitely  to  God  for  the  foreign 
field.  If  you  have  not  done  it  before,  do  it  to- 
day. Go  alone  with  God  and  say,  "  Heavenly 
Father,  here  I  am.  Thy  property,  purchased  by 
the  precious  blood  of  Christ.  I  belong  to  Thee. 
If  Thou  dost  wish  me  in  the  foreign  field,  make 
it  clear  to  me  and  I  will  go.'  Then  keep  watch- 
ing for  the  leading  of  God.  God's  leading  is 
clear  leading.  He  is  light  and  in  Him  is  no 
darkness  at  all  (i  John  i :  5).  If  you  are  really 
Avilling  to  be  led,  He  will  make  it  clear  as  day. 
Until  He  does  make  it  clear  as  day,  you  need 
have  no  morbid  anxiety  that  perhaps  you  are 
sta}'ing  at  home  when  you  ought  to  go  to  the 
foreign  field.  If  He  wants  you.  He  will  make  it 
clear  as  day  in  His  own  way  and  time.  If  He 
does  make  it  clear,  then  prepare  to  go  step  by 


92     How  to  Succeed  in  the  Christian  Life 

step  as  He  leads  you.  And  when  His  hour 
comes,  go,  no  matter  what  it  costs.  If  He  does 
not  make  it  clear  that  you  ought  to  go  in  your 
own  person,  stay  at  home  and  do  your  duty  at 
home  and  go  in  the  other  ways  that  will  now  be 
told. 

2.  We  all  can  go,  and  all  ought  to  go  to  the 
foreign  field  by  our  gifts.  There  are  many  who 
would  like  to  go  to  the  foreign  field  in  their  own 
person,  but  whom  God  providentially  prevents, 
but  who  are  still  going  in  the  missionaries  they 
support  or  help  to  support.  It  is  possible  for 
you  to  preach  the  Gospel  in  the  remotest  corners 
of  the  earth  by  supporting  or  helping  to  support 
a  foreign  missionary  or  a  native  worker  in  that 
place.  Many  who  read  this  book  are  able  finan- 
cially to  support  a  foreign  missionary  out  of  their 
own  pocket.  If  you  are  able  to  do  it,  do  it.  If 
you  are  not  able  to  support  a  foreign  missionary, 
you  may  be  able  to  support  a  native  helper — do 
it.  You  may  be  able  to  support  one  missionary 
in  Japan  and  another  in  China,  and  another  in 
India  and  another  in  Africa  and  another  some- 
where else — do  it.  Oh  !  the  joy  of  preaching  the 
Gospel  in  lands  that  we  shall  never  see  with  our 
own  eyes.  How  few  in  the  church  of  Christ  to- 
day realize  their  privilege  of  preaching  the  Gospel 
and  saving  men  and  women  and  children  in  dis- 
tant lands  by  sending  substitute  missionaries  to 


Foreign  Missions  93 

them,  that  is,  by  sending  some  one  that  goes 
for  you  where  you  cannot  go  yourself.  They 
could  not  go  but  for  your  gifts  by  which  they 
are  supported  and  you  could  not  go  but  for  them, 
by  their  going  in  your  place.  You  may  be  able 
to  give  but  very  little  to  foreign  missions,  but 
every  little  counts.  Many  insignificant  streams 
together  make  a  mighty  river.  If  you  cannot  be 
a  river,  at  least  be  a  stream. 

Learn  to  give  largely.  The  large  giver  is  the 
happy  Christian.  "  The  liberal  soul  shall  be 
made  fat"  (Prov.  11  :  25).  "He  which  soweth 
sparingly  shall  reap  also  sparingly,  and  he  which 
soweth  bountifully  shall  reap  also  bountifully," 
and  "  God  is  able  to  make  all  grace  abound  towards 
you,  that  ye,  always  having  all  sufficiency  in  all 
things  may  abound  to  every  good  work  "  (2  Cor. 
9  :  8,  9).  Success  and  growth  in  the  Christian  life 
depend  upon  few  things  more  than  upon  liberal 
giving.  The  stingy  Christian  cannot  be  a  grow- 
ing Christian.  It  is  wonderful  how  a  Christian 
man  begins  to  grow  when  he  begins  to  give. 
Power  in  prayer  depends  on  liberality  in  giving. 
One  of  the  most  wonderful  statements  about 
prayer  and  its  answers  is  i  John  3  :  22.  John 
says  there  that,  whatsoever  he  asked  of  God  he 
received ;  and  he  tells  us  why,  because  he  on  his 
part,  kept  God's  commandments  and  did  those 
things  which  were  pleasing  in  His  sight,  and  the 


94     How  to  Succeed  in  the  Christian  Life 

immediate  context  shows  that  the  special  com- 
mandments he  was  keeping  were  the  command- 
ments about  giving.  He  tells  us  in  the  twenty- 
first  verse  that  when  our  heart  condemns  us  not 
in  the  matter  of  giving  then  have  we  confidence 
in  our  prayers  to  God.  God's  answers  to  our 
prayers  come  in  through  the  same  door  that  our 
gifts  go  out  to  others,  and  some  of  us  open  the 
door  such  a  little  ways  by  our  small  giving  that 
God  is  not  able  to  pass  in  to  us  any  large  answers 
to  our  prayers.  One  of  the  most  remarkable 
promises  in  the  Bible  is  that  found  in  Phil.  4:19, 
"  My  God  shall  supply  (r.  v.,  fulfill,  that  is  fill 
full)  all  your  need  according  to  His  riches  in  glory 
by  Christ  Jesus,"  but  this  promise  was  made  to 
believers  who  had  distinguished  themselves  above 
their  fellows  by  the  largeness  and  the  frequency 
of  their  giving  (Cf.  vs.  14-18).  Of  course,  we 
should  not  confine  our  giving  to  foreign  missions. 
We  should  give  to  the  work  of  the  home  church : 
we  should  give  to  rescue  work  in  our  large  cities. 
We  should  do  good  to  all  men  as  we  have  oppor- 
tunity, especially  to  those  who  are  of  the  house- 
hold of  faith  (Gal.  6  :  lo).  But  foreign  missions 
should  have  a  large  part  in  our  gifts. 

Give  systematically.  Set  aside  for  Christ  a 
fixed  proportion  of  all  the  money  or  goods  you 
get.  Be  exact  and  honest  about  it.  Don't  use 
that  part  of  your  income  for  yourself  under  any 


Foreign  Missions  95 

circumstances.  The  Christian  is  not  under  law, 
and  there  is  no  law  binding  on  the  Christian  that 
he  should  give  a  tenth  of  his  income,  but  as  a 
matter  of  free  choice  and  glad  gratitude  a  tenth 
is  a  good  proportion  to  begin  with.  Don't  let 
it  be  less  than  a  tenth.  God  required  that  of  the 
Jews  and  the  Christian  ought  not  to  be  more 
selfish  than  a  Jew.  After  you  have  given  your 
tenth,  you  will  soon  learn  the  joy  of  giving  free 
will  offerings  in  addition  to  the  tenth. 

3.  But  there  is  another  way  in  which  we  can 
go  to  the  foreign  field,  that  is  by  our  prayers. 
We  can  all  go  in  this  way.  Any  hour  of  the  day 
or  night  you  can  reach  any  corner  of  the  earth 
by  your  prayers.  I  go  to  Japan,  to  China  and 
to  Australia  and  to  Tasmania  and  to  New  Zealand 
and  to  India  and  to  Africa  and  to  other  parts  of 
the  earth  every  day,  by  my  prayers.  And  prayer 
really  brings  things  to  pass  where  you  go.  Do 
not  make  prayer  an  excuse  for  not  going  in  your 
own  person  if  God  wishes  you,  and  do  not  make 
prayer  an  excuse  for  small  giving.  There  is  no 
power  in  that  kind  of  prayer.  If  you  are  ready 
to  go  yourself  if  God  wishes  you,  and  if  you  are 
actually  going  by  your  gifts  as  God  gives  you 
ability,  then  you  can  go  effectually  by  your 
prayers  also.  The  greatest  need  of  the  work  of 
Jesus  Christ  to-day  is  prayer.  The  greatest  need 
of  foreign  missions  to-day  is  prayer.     Foreign 


96     How  to  Succeed  in  the  Christian  Life 

missions  are  a  success,  but  they  are  no  such  suc- 
cess as  they  ought  to  be  and  might  be.  They 
are  no  such  success  as  they  would  be  if  Christians 
at  home,  as  well  as  abroad,  were  living  up  to  the 
full  measure  of  their  opportunity  in  prayer. 

Be  definite  in  your  prayers  for  foreign  missions. 
Pray  first  of  all  that  God  will  send  forth  labourers 
into  His  harvest,  the  right  sort  of  labourers. 
There  are  many  men  and  women  in  the  foreign 
field  that  ought  never  to  have  gone  there.  There 
was  not  enough  prayer  about  it.  More  foreign 
missionaries  are  greatly  needed,  but  only  more 
of  the  right  kind  of  missionaries.  Pray  to  God 
daily  and  believingly  to  send  forth  labourers  into 
the  harvest. 

Pray  for  the  labourers  who  are  already  on  the 
field.  No  class  of  men  and  women  need  our 
prayers  more  than  foreign  missionaries.  No 
class  of  men  and  women  are  objects  of  more 
bitter  hatred  from  Satan  than  they.  Satan  de- 
lights to  attack  the  reputation  and  the  character 
of  the  brave  men  and  women  who  have  gone 
to  the  front  in  the  battle  for  Christ  and  the 
Truth.  No  persons  are  subjected  to  so  numer- 
ous and  to  such  subtle  and  awful  temptations  as 
foreign  missionaries.  We  owe  it  to  them  to 
support  them  by  our  prayers.  Do  not  merely 
pray  for  foreign  missionaries  in  general.  Have 
a  few  special  missionaries  of  whose  work  you 


Foreign  Missions  97 

make  a  study  that  you  may  pray  intelligently 
for  them. 

Pray  for  the  native  converts.  We  Christians 
at  home  think  we  have  difficulties  and  trials  and 
temptations  and  persecutions,  but  the  burdens 
that  we  have  to  bear  are  nothing  to  what  the 
converts  in  heathen  lands  have  to  bear.  The 
obstacles  oftentimes  are  enormous  and  dis 
couragements  crushing.  Christ  alone  can  make 
them  stand,  but  He  works  in  answer  to  the 
prayers  of  His  people.  Pray  often,  pray  ear- 
nestly, pray  intensely  and  pray  believingly  for 
native  converts.  How  wonderfully  God  has 
answered  prayer  for  native  converts  we  are 
beginning  to  learn  from  missionary  literature. 
It  is  well  to  be  definite  here  again  and  to  have 
some  definite  field  about  whose  needs  you  keep 
yourself  informed  and  pray  for  the  converts  of 
that  field.  Do  not  have  so  many  that  you  be- 
come confused  and  mechanical.  Pray  for  con- 
versions in  the  foreign  field.  Pray  for  revivals 
in  definite  fields.  The  last  (qw  years  have  been 
years  of  special  prayer  for  special  revival  in 
foreign  fields  and  from  every  corner  of  the  earth 
tidings  have  come  of  how  amazingly  God  is  an- 
swering these  prayers.  But  the  great  things  that 
God  is  beginning  to  do  are  small  indeed  in  com- 
parison with  what  He  will  do  if  there  is  more 
prayer. 


XII 

COMPANIONS 

Our  companions  have  a  great  deal  to  do  with 
determining  our  character.  The  companionships 
that  we  form  create  an  intellectual,  moral  and 
spiritual  atmosphere  that  we  are  constantly 
breathing,  and  our  spiritual  health  is  helped  or 
hindered  by  it.  Every  young  Christian  should 
have  a  few  wisely  chosen  friends,  intimate  friends, 
with  whom  he  can  talk  freely.  Search  out  for 
yourself  a  few  persons  of  about  your  own  age 
with  whom  you  can  associate  intimately.  Be 
sure  that  they  are  spiritual  persons  in  the  best 
sense.  Persons  who  love  to  study  the  Bible, 
persons  who  love  to  converse  on  spiritual  themes, 
persons  who  know  how  to  pray  and  do  pray, 
persons  who  are  really  working  to  bring  others 
to  Christ. 

Do  not  be  at  all  uneasy  about  the  fact  that 
some  Christian  people  are  more  agreeable  to  you 
than  others.  God  has  made  us  in  that  way. 
Some  are  attracted  to  some  persons  and  some 
to  others,  and  it  proves  nothing  against  the 
others  and  nothing  against  yourself  that  you  are 
not  attracted  to  them  as  you  are  to  some  people. 
98 


Companions  99 

Cultivate  the  friendship  of  those  whose  friend- 
ship you  find  helpful  to  your  own  spiritual  life. 

On  the  other  hand  avoid  the  companionships 
that  you  find  spiritually  and  morally  hurtful.  Of 
course,  we  are  not  to  withdraw  ourselves  utterly 
from  unconverted  people,  or  even  of  very  bad 
people.  We  are  to  cultivate  oftentimes  the 
acquaintance  of  unspiritual  people,  and  even  of 
very  bad  people,  in  order  that  we  may  win  them 
for  Christ ;  but  we  must  always  be  on  our  guard 
in  such  companionships  to  bear  always  in  mind 
to  seek  to  lift  them  up  or  else  they  will  be  sure 
to  drag  us  down.  If  you  find  in  spite  of  all  your 
best  effort  that  any  companionship  is  doing  harm 
to  your  own  spiritual  Hfe,  then  give  it  up.  Some 
people  are  surrounded  with  such  an  atmosphere 
of  unbelief  or  cynicism  or  censoriousness  or  im- 
purity or  greed  or  some  other  evil  thing  that  it 
is  impossible  to  associate  with  them  to  any  large 
extent  without  being  contaminated.  In  such  a 
case,  the  path  of  wisdom  is  plain  ;  stop  associating 
with  them  to  any  large  extent.  Stop  associating 
with  them  at  all  except  in  so  far  as  there  is 
some  prospect  of  helping  them. 

But  there  are  other  companionships  that 
mould  our  lives  besides  the  companionships  of 
living  persons.  The  books  that  we  read  are  our 
companions.  They  exert  a  tremendous  influ- 
ence for  good  or  for  evil.     There  is  nothing  that 


loo  How  to  Succeed  in  the  Christian  Life 

will  help  us  more  than  a  good  book,  and  there  is 
nothing  that  will  hurt  us  more  than  a  bad  book. 
Among  the  most  helpful  books  are  the  biog- 
raphies of  good  men.  Read  again  and  again 
the  lives  of  such  good  and  truly  great  men  as 
Wesley  and  Finney  and  Moody.  We  live  in  a 
day  in  which  good  biographies  abound.  Read 
them.  Well  written  histories  are  good  com- 
panions. No  study  is  more  practical  and  in- 
structive than  the  study  of  history,  and  it  is  not 
only  instructive  but  spiritually  helpful  if  we  only 
watch  to  see  the  hand  of  God  in  history,  to  see 
the  inevitable  triumph  of  right  and  the  inevitable 
punishment  of  wrong  in  individuals  and  in  na- 
tions. 

Some  few  books  of  fiction  are  helpful,  but  here 
one  needs  to  be  very  much  on  his  guard.  A 
large  portion  of  modern  fiction  is  positively  per- 
nicious morally.  Books  of  fiction  that  are  not 
positively  bad,  at  least  give  false  views  of  life  and 
unfit  one  for  life  as  it  really  is.  Much  reading 
of  fiction  is  mentally  injurious.  The  inveterate 
novel  reader  ruins  his  powers  of  close  and  clear 
thinking.  Fiction  is  so  fascinating  that  it  always 
tends  to  drive  out  other  reading  that  is  more 
helpful  mentally  and  morally.  We  should  be  on 
our  guard  in  even  reading  good  literature,  that 
the  good  does  not  crowd  out  the  best ;  that  is 
that  the  best  of  man's  literature  does  not  crowd 


Companions  loi 

out  the  very  best  of  all — God's  Book.  God's 
Book,  the  Bible,  must  always  have  the  first  place. 
Then  there  is  another  kind  of  companionship 
that  has  a  tremendous  influence  over  our  lives, 
that  is  the  companionship  of  pictures.  The 
pictures  that  we  see  every  day  of  our  lives,  and 
the  pictures  that  we  see  only  occasionally,  have 
a  tremendous  power  in  the  shaping  of  our  lives. 
A  mother  had  two  dearly  loved  sons.  It  was 
her  dream  and  ambition  that  these  sons  should 
enter  the  ministry,  but  both  of  them  went  to  sea. 
She  could  not  understand  it  until  a  friend  one 
day  called  her  attention  to  the  picture  of  a  mag- 
nificent ship  in  full  sail  careening  through  the 
ocean  that  hung  above  the  mantel  in  the  dining- 
room.  Every  day  of  their  lives  her  boys  had 
gazed  upon  that  picture,  had  been  thrilled  by  it, 
and  an  unconquerable  love  for  the  sea  and  long- 
ing for  it  had  thus  been  created  and  this  had 
determined  their  lives.  How  many  a  picture 
that  is  a  masterpiece  of  art,  but  in  which  there  is 
an  evil  suggestion,  has  sent  some  young  men  on 
the  road  to  ruin.  Many  of  our  art  collections 
are  so  polluted  with  improper  pictures  that  it  is 
not  safe  for  a  young  man  or  a  young  woman  to 
visit  them.  The  evil  thought  that  they  suggest 
may  be  but  for  a  moment,  and  yet  Satan  will 
know  how  to  bring  that  picture  back  again  and 
again  and  work  injury  by  it.     Don't  look  for  a 


102  How  to  Succeed  in  the  Christian  Life 

moment  at  any  picture,  no  matter  how  praised  by 
art  critics,  that  taints  your  imagination  with  evil 
suggestion.  Avoid  as  you  would  poison  every 
painting,  or  engraving,  every  etching,  every 
photograph  that  leaves  a  spot  of  impurity  on 
your  mind,  but  feast  your  soul  upon  the  pictures 
that  make  you  holier,  kinder,  more  sympathetic 
and  more  tender. 


XIII 

AMUSEMENTS 

Young  people  need  recreation.  Our  Saviour 
does  not  frown  upon  wholesome  recreation.  He 
was  interested  in  the  games  of  the  children  when 
He  was  here  upon  earth.  He  watched  the 
children  at  their  play  (Matt.  12:  16-19),  and  He 
watches  the  children  at  their  play  to-day,  and  de- 
lights in  their  play  when  it  is  wholesome  and 
elevating.  In  the  stress  and  strain  of  modern  life 
older  people  too  need  recreation  if  they  are  to  do 
their  very  best  work.  But  there  are  recreations 
that  are  wholesome,  and  there  are  amusements 
that  are  pernicious.  It  is  impossible  to  take  up 
amusements  one  by  one,  and  it  is  unnecessary. 
A  few  principles  can  be  laid  down. 

I.  Do  not  indulge  in  any  form  of  amusejnent 
about  whose  propriety  you  have  a7iy  doubts. 
Whenever  you  are  in  doubt,  always  give  God 
the  benefit  of  the  doubt.  There  are  plenty  of 
recreations  about  which  there  can  be  no  question. 
"  He  that  doubteth  is  condemned  :  for  whatsoever 
is  not  of  faith  is  sin  "  (Rom.  14  :  32,  r.  v.).  Many 
a  young  Christian  will  say,  "  I  am  not  sure  that 
103 


104  How  to  Succeed  in  the  Christian  Life 

this  amusement  is  wrong."     Are  you  sure  it  is 
right  ?     If  not,  leave  it  alone. 

2.  Do  not  indulge  in  any  amusement  that  you 
cannot  engage  in  to  the  glory  of  God.  "  Whether 
therefore  ye  eat  or  drink,  or  whatsoever  ye  do,  do 
all  to  the  glory  of  God  "  (i  Cor.  lo  :  31).  When- 
ever you  are  in  doubt  as  to  whether  you  should 
engage  in  any  amusement  ask  yourself,  Can  I  do 
this  at  this  time  to  the  glory  of  God  ? 

3.  Do  7iot  engage  in  any  amusement  that  will 
hurt  your  influefice  with  anybody.  There  are 
amusements,  which  perhaps  are  all  right  in  them- 
selves, but  which  we  cannot  engage  in  without 
losing  our  influence  with  some  one.  Now  every 
true  Christian  wishes  his  life  to  tell  with  every- 
body to  the  utmost.  There  is  so  much  to  be 
done  and  so  few  to  do  it  that  every  Christian 
desires  every  last  ounce  of  power  for  good  that 
he  can  have  with  everybody,  and,  if  any  amuse- 
ment will  injure  your  influence  for  good  with 
any  one,  the  price  is  too  great.  Do  not  engage 
in  it.  A  Christian  young  lady  had  a  great 
desire  to  lead  others  to  Christ.  She  made  up 
her  mind  that  she  would  speak  to  a  young  friend 
of  hers  about  coming  to  Christ,  and  while  resting 
between  the  figures  of  a  dance  she  said  to  the 
young  man  who  was  her  companion  in  the 
dance,  "  George,  are  you  a  Christian  ?  "  "  No," 
he   said,  "  I   am   not,  are  you  ? "     "  Yes,"  she 


Amusements  105 

replied,  "  I  am."  '<  Then,"  he  said,  "  what  are 
you  doing  here  ?  "  Whether  justly  or  unjustly 
the  world  discounts  the  professions  of  those 
Christians  who  indulge  in  certain  forms  of  the 
world's  own  amusements.  We  cannot  afford  to 
have  our  professions  thus  discounted. 

4.  Do  not  engage  in  any  amusement  that  yon 
cafmot  make  a  matter  of  prayer,  that  you  caimot 
ask  God's  blessing  upon.  Pray  before  your  play 
just  as  much  as  you  would  pray  before  your 
work. 

5.  Do  7tot  go  to  a7iy  place  of  amusement 
where  you  cannot  take  Christ  with  yon,  afid 
where  you  do  not  think  Christ  would  feel  at  home. 
Christ  went  to  places  of  mirth  when  He  was  here 
upon  earth.  He  went  to  the  marriage  feast  in 
Cana  (John  2),  and  contributed  to  the  joy  of  the 
occasion,  but  there  are  many  modern  places  of 
amusement  where  Christ  would  not  be  at  home. 
Would  the  atmosphere  of  the  modern  stage  be 
congenial  to  that  holy  One  whom  we  call 
"  Lord  "  ?     If  it  would  not,  don't  you  go. 

6.  Don't  engage  in  any  amusement  that  you 
zvould  not  like  to  be  found  enjoying  if  the  Lord 
should  come.  He  may  come  at  any  moment. 
Blessed  is  that  one  whom  when  He  cometh.  He 
shall  find  watching  and  ready,  and  glad  to  open 
to  Him  immediately  (Luke  12:  36,  40).  I  have 
a   friend  who  was  one  day  walking  down  the 


Jo6  How  to  Succeed  in  the  Christian  Life 

street  thinking  upon  the  return  of  his  Lord.  As 
he.  thought  he  was  smoking  a  cigar.  The 
thought  came  to  him,  "  Would  you  Hke  to  meet 
Christ  now  with  that  cigar  in  your  mouth  ?  "  He 
answered  honestly,  "  No,  I  would  not."  He 
threw  that  cigar  away  and  never  lighted  another. 
7.  Do  not  engage  in  any  amusement,  no  mat- 
ter how  harmless  it  would  be  for  yourself,  that 
might  harm  some  one  else.  Take  for  example 
card  playing.  It  is  probable  that  thousands  have 
played  cards  moderately  all  their  lives  and  never 
suffered  any  direct  moral  injury  from  it,  but  every 
one  who  has  studied  the  matter  knows  that  cards 
are  the  gamblers'  chosen  tools.  He  also  knows 
that  most,  if  not  all,  gamblers  took  their  first 
lessons  in  card  playing  at  the  quiet  family  card 
table.  He  knows  that  if  a  young  man  goes  out 
into  the  world  knowing  how  to  play  cards  and 
indulging  at  all  in  this  amusement  that  before 
long  he  is  going  to  be  put  into  a  place  where  he 
is  going  to  be  asked  to  play  cards  for  money, 
and  if  he  does  not  consent  he  will  get  into  seri- 
ous trouble.  Card  playing  is  a  dangerous  amuse- 
ment for  the  average  young  man.  It  is  pretty 
sure  to  lead  to  gambling  on  a  larger  or  a  smaller 
scale,  and  one  of  the  most  crying  social  evils  of 
our  time  is  the  evil  of  gambling.  Some  young 
man  may  be  encouraged  to  play  cards  by  your 
playing  who  will  afterwards  become  a  gambler 


Amusements  107 

and  part  of  the  responsibility  will  lie  at  your 
door.  If  I  could  repeat  all  the  stories  that  have 
come  to  me  from  broken-hearted  men  whose 
lives  have  been  shipwrecked  at  the  gaming  table  ; 
if  I  could  tell  of  all  the  broken-hearted  mothers 
who  have  come  to  me,  some  of  them  in  high 
position,  whose  sons  have  committed  suicide  at 
Monte  Carlo  and  other  places,  ruined  by  the 
cards,  I  think  that  all  thoughtful  and  true  Chris- 
tians would  give  them  up  forever. 

For  most  of  us  the  recreations  that  are  most 
helpful  are  those  that  demand  a  considerable  out- 
lay of  physical  energy.  Recreations  that  take 
us  into  the  open  air,  recreations  that  leave  us 
refreshed  in  body  and  invigorated  in  mind. 
Physical  exercises  of  the  strenuous  kind,  but 
not  over-exercise,  is  one  of  the  great  safeguards 
of  the  moral  conduct  of  boys  and  young  men. 
There  is  very  little  recreation  in  watching  others 
play  the  most  vigorous  game  of  football  but 
there  is  real  health  for  the  body  and  for  the  soul 
in  a  due  amount  of  physical  exercise  for  yourself. 


XIV 

PERSECUTION 

One  of  the  discouragements  that  meets  every 
true  Christian  before  he  has  gone  very  far  in  the 
Christian  hfe  is  persecution.  God  tells  us  in  His 
Word  that  "All  that  will  live  godly  in  Christ 
Jesus  shall  suffer  persecution"  (2  Tim.  3:12). 
Sooner  or  later  every  one  who  surrenders  abso- 
lutely to  God  and  seeks  to  follow  Jesus  Christ  in 
everything  will  find  that  this  verse  is  true.  We 
live  in  a  God-hating  world  and  in  a  compro- 
mising age.  The  world's  hatred  of  God  in  our 
day  is  veiled.  It  does  not  express  itself  in  our 
land  in  the  same  way  that  it  expressed  itself  in 
Palestine  in  the  days  of  Jesus  Christ,  but  the 
world  hates  God  to-day  as  much  as  it  ever  did, 
and  it  hates  the  one  who  is  loyal  to  Christ.  It 
may  not  imprison  him  or  kill  him  but  in  some 
way  it  will  persecute  him.  Persecution  is  inevi- 
table for  a  loyal  follower  of  Jesus  Christ.  Many 
a  young  Christian  when  he  meets  with  persecu- 
tion is  surprised  and  discouraged  and  not  a  few 
fall  away.  Many  a  one  seems  to  run  well  for  a 
few  days  but  hke  those  of  whom  Jesus  spoke, 
"  They  have  no  root  in  themselves,  but  endure 
108 


Persecution  1 09 

for  a  while ;  then  when  tribulation  or  persecution 
ariseth  because  of  the  Word  straightway  they 
stumble"  (Mark  4:  17).  I  have  seen  many  an 
apparently  promising  Christian  life  brought  to 
an  end  in  this  way.  But  if  persecution  is  rightly 
received,  it  is  no  longer  a  hindrance  to  the  Chris- 
tian life  but  a  help  to  it. 

Do  not  be  discouraged  when  you  are  perse- 
cuted. No  matter  how  fierce  and  hard  the  per- 
secution may  be,  be  thankful  for  it.  Jesus  says, 
"  Blessed  are  they  which  are  persecuted  for 
righteousness'  sake :  for  theirs  is  the  kingdom  of 
heaven.  Blessed  are  ye,  when  men  shall  revile 
you,  and  persecute  you,  and  shall  say  all  manner 
of  evil  against  you  falsely,  for  My  sake.  Rejoice, 
and  be  exceeding  glad :  for  great  is  your  reward 
in  heaven :  for  so  persecuted  they  the  prophets 
which  were  before  you"  (Matt.  5  :  10-12).  It  is 
a  great  privilege  to  be  persecuted  for  Christ  and 
for  the  truth.  Peter  found  this  out  and  wrote  to 
the  Christians  of  his  day :  "  Beloved,  think  it  not 
strange  concerning  the  fiery  trial  which  is  to  try 
you,  as  though  some  strange  thing  happened 
unto  you.  But  rejoice,  inasmuch,  as  ye  are  par- 
takers of  Christ's  suffering ;  that,  when  His  glory 
shall  be  revealed,  ye  may  be  glad  also  with  ex- 
ceeding joy.  If  ye  be  reproached  for  the  name 
of  Christ,  happy  are  ye ;  for  the  spirit  of  glory 
and  of  God  resteth  upon  you:  on  their  part  He 


1 10  How  to  Succeed  in  the  Christian  Life 

is  evil  spoken  of,  but  on  your  part  He  is  glori- 
fied" (i  Peter  4:  12-14),  Be  very  sure  that  the 
persecution  is  really  for  Christ's  sake  and  not 
because  of  some  eccentricity  of  your  own,  or 
because  of  your  stubbornness.  There  are  many 
who  bring  upon  themselves  the  displeasure  of 
others  because  they  are  stubborn  and  cranky 
and  then  flatter  themselves  that  they  are  being 
persecuted  for  Christ's  sake  and  for  righteous- 
ness' sake.  Be  considerate  of  the  opinions  of 
others  and  be  considerate  of  the  conduct  of 
others.  Be  sure  that  you  do  not  push  your 
opinions  upon  others  in  an  unwarrantable  way, 
or  make  your  conscience  a  rule  of  life  for  other 
people.  But  never  yield  a  jot  of  principle.  Stand 
for  what  you  believe  to  be  the  truth.  Do  it  in 
love,  but  do  it  at  any  cost.  And  if  when  you 
are  standing  for  conviction  and  principle  you  are 
disliked  for  it  and  slandered  for  it  and  treated 
with  all  manner  of  unkindness  because  of  it,  do 
not  be  sad  but  rejoice.  Do  not  speak  evil  of 
those  who  speak  evil  of  you,  "  because  Christ 
also  suffered  for  us,  leaving  us  an  example,  that 
ye  should  follow  His  steps :  who,  when  He  was 
reviled,  reviled  not  again,  when  He  suffered.  He 
threatened  not;  but  committed  Himself  to  Him 
that  judgeth  righteously"  (i  Peter  2:  21,  23). 

At  this  point  many  a  Christian  makes  a  mis- 
take.    He  stands  loyally  for  the  truth,  but  he  re- 


Persecution  1 1 1 

ceives  the  persecution  that  comes  for  the  truth 
with  harshness,  he  grows  bitter,  he  gets  to  con- 
demning every  one  but  himself.  There  is  no 
blessing  in  bearing  persecution  in  that  way. 
Persecution  should  be  borne  meekly,  lovingly, 
serenely.  Don't  talk  about  your  own  persecu- 
tions. Rejoice  in  them.  Thank  God  for  them, 
and  go  on  obeying  God.  And  don't  forget  to 
love  and  pray  for  them  who  persecute  you 
(Matt.  5  :  44)- 

If  at  any  time  the  persecution  seems  harder 
than  you  can  bear,  remember  how  abundant  the 
reward  is,  "  If  we  suffer,  we  shall  also  reign  with 
Him.  If  we  deny  Him,  He  also  will  deny  us  " 
(2  Tim.  2  :  12).  Every  one  must  enter  into  the 
kingdom  of  God  through  much  tribulation  (Acts 
14 :  22),  but  do  not  go  back  on  that  account. 
Remember  always  however  fiercely  the  fire  of 
persecution  may  burn,  "  That  the  sufferings  of 
this  present  time  are  not  worthy  to  be  compared 
with  the  glory  which  shall  be  revealed  in  us  " 
(Rom.  8:18).  Remember  too  that  your  light 
affliction  is  but  for  the  moment,  and  that  it  work- 
eth  out  for  you  "  a  far  more  exceeding  and  eternal 
weight  of  glory  "  (2  Cor.  4  :  17).  Keep  looking, 
not  at  the  things  which  are  seen,  but  at  the  things 
which  are  not  seen,  for  the  things  which  are  seen 
are  but  for  a  time,  but  the  things  which  are  not 
seen  are  for  eternity  (2  Cor.  4  :  18).     When  the 


112  How  to  Succeed  in  the  Christian  Life 

apostles  were  persecuted,  even  unto  imprison- 
ment and  stripes,  they  departed  from  the  pres- 
ence of  the  council  that  had  ordered  their  terrible 
punishment,  rejoicing  that  they  were  counted 
worthy  to  suffer  shame  for  the  name  of  Jesus,  and 
they  continued  daily  in  the  temple  and  every 
house  teaching  and  preaching  Jesus  Christ  (Acts 
5  :  40-42). 

The  time  may  come  when  you  think  that  you 
are  being  persecuted  more  than  others,  but  you 
do  not  know  what  others  may  have  to  endure. 
Even  if  it  were  true, — that  you  were  being  per- 
secuted more  than  any  one  else,  you  ought  not 
to  complain  but  to  humbly  thank  God  that  He 
has  bestowed  upon  you  such  an  honour.  Keep 
your  eyes  fixed  upon  "  Jesus,  the  Author  and  Fin- 
isher of  our  faith ;  who  for  the  joy  that  was  set 
before  Him  endured  the  cross,  despising  the 
shame,  and  is  set  down  at  the  right  hand  of  the 
throne  of  God.  For  consider  Him  that  en- 
dured such  contradiction  of  sinners  against  Him- 
self, lest  ye  be  wearied  and  faint  in  your  mind  " 
(Heb.  12  :  2,  3).  I  was  once  talking  with  an  old 
coloured  man  who  in  the  slave  days  had  found 
his  Saviour.  The  cruel  master  had  him  flogged 
again  and  again  for  his  loyalty  to  Christ  but  he 
said  to  me,  "  I  simply  thought  of  my  Saviour 
dying  on  the  cross  in  my  place,  and  I  rejoiced  to 
suffer  persecution  for  Him." 


XV 

GUIDANCE 

I  HAVE  met  a  great  many  who  are  trying  to 
lead  a  Christian  life  who  are  much  troubled  over 
the  question  of  guidance.  They  wish  to  do  the 
will  of  God  in  all  things,  but  what  puzzles  them 
is  to  tell  what  the  will  of  God  may  be  in  every 
case.  When  any  one  starts  out  with  the  de- 
termination to  obey  God  in  everything  and  to  be 
led  by  the  Holy  Spirit,  Satan  seeks  to  trouble 
him  by  perplexing  him  as  to  what  the  will  of  God 
is.  Satan  comes  and  suggests  that  something  is 
the  will  of  God  that  is  probably  not  the  will  of 
God  at  all,  and  then  when  he  does  not  do  it,  Satan 
says,  "  There  you  disobeyed  God."  In  this  way, 
many  a  conscientious  young  Christian  gets  into 
a  very  morbid  and  unhappy  state  of  mind,  fear- 
ing that  he  has  disobeyed  God  and  has  lost  His 
favour.  This  is  one  of  the  most  frequent  devices 
of  the  devil  to  keep  Christians  from  being 
cheerful. 

How  may  we  know  the  will  of  God  ? 

First  of  all  let  me  say  that  a  true  Christian  life 
is  not  a  life  governed  by  a  whole  lot  of  rules  about 
what  one  shall  eat,  and  what  one  shall  drink,  and 
"3 


1 14  How  to  Succeed  in  the  Christian  Life 

what  one  shall  do,  and  what  one  shall  not  do. 
A  life  governed  by  a  lot  of  rules  is  a  life  of  bond- 
age. One  is  sure  sooner  or  later  to  break  some 
of  these  man-made  rules  and  to  get  into  con- 
demnation. Paul  tells  us  in  Rom.  8:  15,  "Ye 
have  not  received  the  spirit  of  bondage  again  to 
fear ;  but  ye  have  received  the  spirit  of  adoption 
(placing  us  a  son),  whereby  we  cry,  Abba, 
Father."  The  true  Christian  life  is  the  hfe  of  a 
trusting,  glad,  fear-free  child ;  not  led  by  rules, 
but  led  by  the  personal  guidance  of  the  Holy 
Spirit  who  dwells  within  us.  "  As  many  as  are 
led  by  the  Spirit  of  God  these  are  sons  of  God  " 
(Rom.  8  :  14,  r.  v.).  If  you  have  received  the 
Holy  Spirit,  He  dwells  within  you  and  is  ready 
to  lead  you  at  every  turn  of  life.  A  life  gov- 
erned by  a  multitude  of  rules  is  a  life  of  bondage 
and  anxiety.  A  life  surrendered  to  the  control 
of  the  Holy  Spirit  is  a  life  of  joy  and  peace  and 
freedom.  There  is  no  anxiety  in  such  a  life, 
there  is  no  fear  in  the  presence  of  God.  We 
trust  God  and  rejoice  in  His  presence  just  as  a 
true  child  trusts  his  earthly  father  and  rejoices  in 
his  presence.  If  we  make  a  mistake  at  any  point, 
even  if  we  disobey  God,  we  go  and  tell  Him  all 
about  it  as  trustfully  as  a  child  and  know  that  He 
forgives  us  and  that  we  are  restored  at  once  to 
His  full  favour  (i  John  i  19). 

But  how  can  we  tell  the  Holy  Spirit's  guidance 


Guidance  llj; 

that  we  may  obey  Him  and  thus  have  God's 
favour  at  every  turn  of  life  ?  This  question  is 
answered  in  James  i  :  5-7,  r,  v.,  "  But  if  any  of 
you  lacketh  wisdom,  let  him  ask  of  God,  who 
giveth  to  all  hberally  and  upbraideth  not ;  and  it 
shall  be  given  him,  but  let  him  ask  in  faith,  noth- 
ing doubting :  for  he  that  doubteth  is  like  the 
surge  of  the  sea  driven  by  the  wind  and  tossed. 
For  let  not  that  man  think  that  he  shall  receive 
anything  of  the  Lord."  This  is  very  simple.  It 
includes  five  points. 

(i)  That  you  recognize  your  own  ignorance 
and  your  own  inability  to  guide  your  own  life — 
that  you  lack  wisdom. 

(2)  The  surrender  of  your  will  to  God,  and  a 
real  desire  to  be  led  by  Him. 

(3)  Definite  prayer  to  Him  for  guidance. 

(4)  Confident  expectation  that  God  will  guide 
you.     You  "  ask  in  faith,  nothing  doubting." 

(5)  That  you  follow  step  by  step  as  He 
guides.  God  may  only  show  you  a  step  at  a 
time.  That  is  enough.  All  you  need  to  know 
is  the  next  step.  It  is  here  that  many  make  a 
mistake.  They  wish  God  to  show  them  the 
whole  way  before  they  take  the  first  step.  A 
university  student  once  came  to  me  over  the 
question  of  guidance.  He  said,  "  I  cannot  find 
out  the  will  of  God.  I  have  been  praying  but 
God  does  not  show  me  His  will."     This  was  in 


1 16  How  to  Succeed  in  the  Christian  Life 

the  month  of  July.  I  said,  "  About  what  is  it 
that  you  are  seeking  to  know  the  will  of  God  ?  " 
"  About  what  I  should  do  next  summer."  I 
said,  "  Do  you  know  what  you  ought  to  do  to- 
morrow ?  "  "  Yes."  "  Do  you  not  know  what 
you  ought  to  do  next  autumn  ?  "  "  Yes,  finish 
my  course.  But  what  I  want  to  know  is  what  I 
ought  to  do  when  my  university  course  is  over." 
He  was  soon  led  to  see  that  all  he  needed  to 
know  for  the  present  was  what  God  had  already 
shown  him.  That  when  he  did  that,  God 
would  show  him  the  next  step.  Do  not  worry 
about  what  you  ought  to  do  next  week.  Do 
what  God  shows  you  you  ought  to  do  to-day. 
Next  week  will  take  care  of  itself.  Indeed,  to- 
morrow will  take  care  of  itself.  Obey  the  Spirit 
of  God  for  to-day.  "  Be  not  therefore  anxious 
for  the  morrow  ;  for  the  morrow  will  be  anxious 
for  the  things  of  itself.  Sufificient  unto  the  day 
is  the  evil  thereof"  (Matt.  6:  34,  r.  v.).  It  is 
enough  to  live  a  day  at  a  time,  if  we  do  our 
very  best  for  that  day. 

God's  guidance  is  clear  guidance, "  God  is  light 
and  in  Him  is  no  darkness  at  all "  (i  John  i  :  5). 
Do  not  be  anxious  over  obscure  leadings.  Do 
not  let  your  soul  be  ruffled  by  the  thought, 
"  Perhaps  this  obscure  leading  is  what  God  wants 
me  to  do."  Obscure  leadings  are  not  divine 
leadings.     God's  path  is  as  clear  as  day.     Satan's 


Guidance  117 

path  is  full  of  obscurity  and  uncertainty  and 
anxiety  and  questioning.  If  there  comes  some 
leading  of  which  you  are  not  quite  sure  whether 
it  is  the  will  of  God  or  not,  simply  go  to  your 
Heavenly  Father  and  say,  "  Heavenly  Father,  I 
desire  to  know  Thy  will.  I  will  do  Thy  will  if 
Thou  wilt  make  it  clear.  But  Thou  art  light 
and  in  Thee  is  no  darkness  at  all.  If  this  is  Thy 
will  make  it  clear  as  day  and  I  will  do  it."  Then 
wait  quietly  upon  God  and  do  not  act  until  God 
makes  it  clear,  but  the  moment  it  is  made  clear, 
act  at  once. 

The  whole  secret  of  guidance  is  an  absolutely 
surrendered  will,  a  will  that  is  given  up  to  God 
and  ready  to  obey  Him  at  any  cost.  Many  of 
our  uncertainties  about  God's  guidance  are 
simply  because  we  are  not  really  willing  to  do 
what  God  is  really  guiding  us  to  do.  We  are 
tempted  to  say,  "  I  cannot  find  out  what  God's 
will  is,"  when  the  real  trouble  is  we  have  found 
out  His  will  and  it  is  something  we  do  not  wish 
to  do  and  we  are  trying  to  make  ourselves  think 
that  God  wants  us  to  do  something  else. 

All  supposed  leadings  of  God  should  be  tested 
by  the  Word  of  God.  The  Bible  is  God's 
revealed  will.  Any  leading  that  contradicts  the 
plain  teaching  of  the  Bible  is  certainly  not  the 
leading  of  the  Holy  Spirit.  The  Holy  Spirit 
does  not  contradict  Himself.     A  man  once  came 


1 18  How  to  Succeed  in  the  Christian  Life 

to  me  and  said  that  God  was  leading  him  to 
marry  a  certain  woman.  He  said  that  she  was 
a  very  devoted  Christian  woman  and  they  had 
been  greatly  drawn  towards  one  another  and  they 
felt  that  God  was  leading  them  to  be  married. 
But  I  said  to  the  man,  "  You  already  have  a 
wife."  "  Yes,"  he  said,  "  but  we  have  never 
lived  happily  and  we  have  not  lived  together  for 
years."  "  But,"  I  replied,  "  that  does  not  alter 
the  case.  God  in  His  Word  has  told  us  dis- 
tinctly the  duty  of  the  husband  to  the  wife  and 
how  wrong  it  is  in  His  sight  for  a  husband  to 
divorce  his  wife  and  marry  another."  "  Yes," 
said  the  man,  "  but  the  Holy  Spirit  is  leading  us 
to  one  another."  I  indignantly  replied  that 
"  Whatever  spirit  is  leading  you  to  marry  one 
another,  it  is  certainly  not  the  Holy  Spirit  but 
the  spirit  of  the  evil  one.  The  Holy  Spirit 
never  leads  any  one  to  disobey  the  Word  of 
God." 

In  seeking  to  know  the  guidance  of  the  Spirit 
always  search  the  Scriptures,  study  them  prayer- 
fully. Do  not  make  a  book  of  magic  out  of  the 
Bible.  Do  not  ask  God  to  show  you  His  will 
and  then  open  your  Bible  at  random  and  put 
your  finger  upon  some  text  and  take  it  out  of 
its  connection  without  any  relation  to  its  real 
meaning  and  decide  the  will  of  God  in  that  way. 
This  is  an  irreverent  and  improper  use  of  Scrip- 


Guidance  119 

ture.  You  may  open  your  Bible  at  just  the 
right  place  to  find  right  guidance,  but  if  you  do, 
it  will  not  be  by  some  fanciful  interpretation  of 
the  passage  you  tind.  It  will  be  by  taking  the 
passage  in  its  context  and  interpreting  it  to  mean 
just  what  it  says  as  seen  in  its  context.  All  sorts 
of  mischief  has  arisen  from  using  the  Bible  in 
this  perverse  way.  I  knew  an  earnest  Christian 
woman  once  who  was  somewhat  concerned 
about  the  predictions  made  by  a  false  prophetess 
that  Chicago  was  to  be  destroyed  on  a  certain 
day.  She  opened  her  Bible  at  random.  It 
opened  to  the  twelfth  chapter  of  Ezekiel,  "  Son 
of  man,  eat  thy  bread  with  quaking,  and  drink 
thy  water  with  trembling  and  with  careful- 
ness. .  .  .  And  the  cities  that  are  inhabited 
shall  be  laid  waste,  and  the  land  shall  be  deso- 
late "  (Ezek.  12:  18,  20).  Now  this  seemed  to 
exactly  fit  the  case  and  the  woman  was  consider- 
ably impressed,  but  if  the  verses  had  been  studied 
in  their  connection,  it  would  have  been  evident 
at  once  that  God  was  not  speaking  about  Chicago 
and  that  they  were  not  applicable  to  Chicago. 
It  was  not  an  intelligent  study  of  the  Word  of 
God  and  therefore  led  to  a  false  conclusion. 

To  sum  up,  lead  a  life  not  led  by  rules  but  by 
the  personal  guidance  of  the  Holy  Spirit.  Sur- 
render your  will  absolutely  to  God.  Whenever 
you  are  in  doubt  as  to  His  guidance,  go  to  Him 


1 20  How  to  Succeed  in  the  Christian  Life 

and  ask  Him  to  show  you  His  will,  expect  Him 
to  do  it,  follow  step  by  step  as  He  leads.  Test 
all  the  leadings  by  the  plain  and  simple  teachings 
of  the  Bible.  Live  free  from  anxiety  and  worry 
lest  in  some  unguarded  moment  you  have  not 
done  the  right  thing. 

After  you  have  done  what  you  think  God  led 
you  to  do,  do  not  be  always  going  back  and 
wondering  whether  you  did  the  right  thing. 
You  will  get  into  a  morbid  state  if  you  do.  If 
you  really  wished  to  do  God's  will  and  sought 
His  guidance,  and  did  what  you  thought  He 
guided  you  to  do,  you  may  rest  assured  you  did 
the  right  thing,  no  matter  what  the  outcome  has 
been.  Satan  is  bound  that  we  shall  not  be 
happy,  cheerful  Christians  if  he  can  prevent  it, 
but  God  wishes  us  to  be  happy,  cheerful,  bright 
Christians  every  day  and  every  hour.  He  does 
not  wish  us  to  brood  but  to  rejoice  (Phil.  4 :  4). 
A  most  excellent  Christian  man  came  to  me 
one  Monday  morning  in  great  gloom  over  the 
failures  of  the  work  of  the  preceding  day.  He 
said  to  me,  "  I  made  wretched  work  of  teaching 
my  Sunday-school  class  yesterday."  I  said, 
"  Did  you  honestly  seek  wisdom  from  God  before 
you  went  to  your  class  ?  "  He  said,  "  I  did."  I 
said,  "  Did  you  expect  to  receive  it  ?  "  He  said, 
"  I  did."  "  Then,"  I  said,  "  in  the  face  of  God's 
promise  what  right  have  you  to  doubt  that  God 


Guidance  121 

did  give  you  wisdom  ? "  (James  i  :  5-7).  His 
gloom  disappeared  and  he  looked  up  with  a 
smile  and  said, "I  had  no  right  to  doubt."  Let 
us  learn  to  trust  God.  Let  us  remember  that  if 
our  wills  are  surrendered  to  Him  He  is  ever 
more  wiUing  to  guide  us  than  we  are  to  be  guided. 
Let  us  trust  that  He  does  guide  us  at  every  step 
and  even  though  what  we  do  does  not  turn  out 
as  we  expected,  let  us  never  brood  over  it  but 
trust  God.  Let  us  walk  in  the  light  of  simple 
trust  in  God.  In  this  way  we  shall  be  glad  and 
peaceful  and  strong  and  useful  at  every  turn  of 
life. 


EVANGELISTIC. 


The   Cvdkn^elistiC   Note  a  study  of  needs  >nd  methods, 
together  with  a  scries  of  direct  appeals. 
3rd  Edition.     lamo,  Cloth,  net  $1,25.  W.  J.   DAW50N 

"One  of  the  most  remarUable  and  stirring  of  recent  books.  It  is 
really  the  story  of  a  great  crisis  in  the  life  of  a  great  preacher.  Mr. 
Dawson's  experience  in  his  own  church  has  justified  his  faith,  and  his 
book  is  a  most  stimulating  treatise  on  homiletics  and  pastoral  theol- 
ogy.    It  is  epoch-making  in  character." — The  IVaickman. 


Torrey  and  Alexander    ^'^"ifrv^J'iRe.irai 

A  record   and  study  of  the  work  and  personality  of  the  Evangelists 
DR.  R.  A.  TORREV,  D.  D.,  and  CHARLES  M.  ALEXANDER. 
Illustrated,  iimo.  Cloth,  net  Sk».  GEORQB  T.  B.  DAVIS 

The  multitudes  who  have  followed  the  marvellous  progress  of  the 
religious  awakening  in  Australasia,  India,  and  Great  Britain,  accom- 
panying the  efforts  of  these  evangelists  will  eagerly  welcome  this 
glimpse  from  the  inside  of  their  career,  personality  and  work.  Mr. 
Davis  has  been  associated  in  a  confidential  capacity  with  the  work 
of  the  two  evangelists,  and  writes  with  keen  appreciation  of  the 
interesting  facts  in  stirring  language. 

Real  Salvation  and  Whole- Hearted  Ser- 
vice    ■^  second  volume  of  Revival  Addresses, 
lamo,  Cloth,  net  $1.00.  R.  A.  TORREY 

The  multitudes  led  to  decision  in  connection  with  the  preaching 
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a  loving  plea  as  from  a  God-sent  messenger,  are  the  marked  features 
of  this  new  volume. 

Talks  to  IMen     About  the  Bible  and  the   Christ  of  the  Bible. 
i2mo,  Cloth,  net  75c.  R.  A.  TORREY 

"The  directness,  simplicity,  with  wide  scholarship  and  literary 
charm  of  these  talks,  and  unhesitating  claim  for  the  highest  and 
fullest  inspiration,  inerrancy  and  authority  for  the  Bible,  make  them 
trumpet  calls  to  faith." — A'^.  Y  Observer. 

The  Passion  for  Souls 

i6mo, Cloth,  netsoc.  J.  H.  JOWETT 

Seven  sermons  on  tenderness,   watchfulness,   companionship,  rest 

and  vision  of  the  apostle  Paul's  passion  for  human  souls.     This  little 

volume  shows  his  keen,  reverent  insight  at  its   best   and   is  made  rich 

with  abundant  and  well  chosen  illustrations. 

The  Worker's  Weapon    ^^^  ^"'LT^}^^"'^""^ 

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"A  fine  presentation  of  the  unquestionable  authority  of  God's 
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tody  «nd  uie  the  Bible." 


BIOGRAPHICAL  AND  EVANGELISTIC. 

Maltbie  Davenport  Babcock 

A  biographical  sketch  and  memorial.     With  portrait.     Sd  edition 
i2mo.  Cloth.  $1.00  CHARLES  E.  ROBINSON 

"It  was  indeed  hard  to  give  any  true  presentment  of  a  man  like 
Babcock,  so  vivid,  so  dazzling  at  times,  so  lovable  always;  but  the 
writer's  success  is  quite  wonderful."— //is'wrj'  Van-Dyke. 

Infin  H«anrvRftrrf»Vr« -^  Memoir  by  his  daughter,  with 
JOnn  nenry  OarrOWS  ^   hitherto  unpublished  portraits. 

8to,  gilt  top,  net  $1.50.  MARY  ELEANOR  BARROWS 

"The  whole  story  from  beginning  to  end,  at  home  and  abroad,  is 
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power  the  higher  ideals  of  life.  Were  it  fa^zt  or  fiction,  a  more  ab- 
sorbingly interesting  story  has  not  appeared  for  a  long  time." — 
Chicago  Tribune. 

What  Frances  Willard  Said 

lamo.  Cloth,  net  75c.  Edited  by  ANNA  A.  GORDON, 

World's  Vice  President  of  the  W.  C.  T.  U. 

Selections  of  most  striking  statements  on  a  great  variety  <.-.{  topics, 
and  representing  the  many  really  remarkable  qualities  of  America's 
'•  uncrowned  queen  "  of  women. 

The  Soul- Winning  Church 

2nd  Edition.     i2mo.  Cloth,  net  50c.  LEN  G.  BROUGHTON. 

•'Dr.  Broughton,  of  Atlanta,  is  a  well-known  revivalist.  Some  of 
his  most  effective  addresses  in  this  country  and  in  England  are  com- 
prised in  this  volume.  They  are  plain,  pungent,  and  spiritually  quick- 
ening."—  The  Outlook. 

The  Awakening  in  Wales  ^"'^  2°^;,°^^^.^"''''^"=° 

izmo,  Paper,  net  35c.  flRS.  JESSIE  PENN-LEWIS 

Mrs.  Pcnn-Lewis  Elites  from  first-1  and  information  of  the  great 
revival  movement  and  the  events  that  led  up  to  it.  It  is  doubtless  the 
most  powerful  and  inspiring  record  yet  written  of  the  great  revival. 

The  Story  of  the  Welsh  Revival 

4th  Edition.     i6mo.  Paper,  net  15c.    ARTHUR  GOODRICH, B. A. 

As  told  by  eye  witnesses,  together  with  a  sketch  of  Evan  Roberts 
and  his  message  to  the  world.  With  added  chapters  by  G.  Campbell 
Morgan,  D.  D.,  W.  T.  Stead,  Rev.  W.  W.  Moore,  Rev.  Evan  Hop- 
kins and  others. 

The  Open  Church  for  the  Unchurched 

or  How  to  Reach  the  Masses. 

i2mo,  Cloth,  ji.oo.  J.  E.  Mcculloch 

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IDEALS  or  LIFE  AND  CONDUCT 


The  Choice  of  the  Highest  ^["^JX'n'  ^='"''"' 

nmo.  Cloth,  netji.oo.  REGINALD  J.  CAMPBELL,  M.A. 

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peals. Mr.  Campbell  is  a  virile  thinker  with  a  fineness  of  feeling, 
which  makes  him  a  power  in  the  pulpit  which  he  holds." — Chrittian 
Intelligencer. 

Christianity  as  Taught  by  Christ 

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courses possess  a  value  both  unique  and  practical Stirring,  in- 
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faith  and  inciting  to  oractice." — Atlanta  Constitution. 

Christ  and  Men 

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ol  Jesus'  character  as  shown  in  his  interviews  with  men,  his  tact,  his 
discernment,  his  delicate  handling  of  people. 

XK*»    Anrtc^lo   Do^of*      Outline  Studies  in  his  Life, 
1  ne  rVpOSHe   feier     character  and  Writings. 
lamo.  Cloth,  net*i.2S.  W.  H.  GRIFFITH  THOMAS 

"An  excellent  example  of  what  Biblical  analysis  should  be  and 
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main  truths  of  each  passage  treated  in  a  particularly  exact  and  lum- 
inous way." — Advance. 

The  Culture  of  SimpUcity  XALm'niel" ""^ 

2nd  Edition.  lamo.  Cloth,  net  |i.oo.  HALCOLM  J.  McLEOD 
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American  reader  than  Charles  Wagner's  "The  Simple  Life.'  It  ex- 
plains more  clearly  how  the  life  may  be  lived,  and  reaches  the  root  of 
things  in  the  Gospel  of  Christ" — Cangreg»tienalist. 

dims  of    Lrife    And  other  sermons. 

i2mo.  Cloth,  net  $1.00.  J.  D.  JONES 

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In  these  discourses  the  form  is  plain  and  lucid,  the  aim  is  practical." — 

The  Outlook. 

Young  Men  Who  Overcame 

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"These  fifteen   condensed  biographies    exhibit    the    power  and 

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aess,  CbrUtinn  misfions.  —  Tkt  OntUok. 


STUDIES  ON  BIBLICAL  THEMES 


The  Witness  of  Sin  a  Theodicy 

lamo,  Cloth,  net  $i.oo.  NATHAN  ROBINSON  WOOD 

A  splendidly  thought-out  presentation  of  the  problem  presented 
by  the  presence  of  sin  in  a  world  dominated  by  God.  Some  sort  of  a 
theodicy,  some  conception  of  the  solution  of  this  question  is  necessary 
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present-day  theology. 

The  Walk,  Conversation  and  Character 
of  Jesus  Christ  Our  Lord 

i2mo,  Cloth,  net  $1.50.  ALEXANDER  WHYTB 

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in  touch  with  real  life,  Dr.  Whyte  has  that  power  of  separating  himself 
from  the  stream  of  things  which  is  essential  to  a  great  religious 
teacher." — British  Weekly  [Robertson  Nicoll,  Editor.) 

Jesus  of  Nazareth,  the  Anointed  of  God 

Or,  The  Inner  History  of-a  Consecrated  Life, 
lamo.  Cloth,  net  75c.  P.  COOK,  H. A. 

"As  a  brief  and  concise  summary,  a  bird's-eye  view  of  the  life  of 
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The  Divine  Tragedy    a  Drama  of  the  christ 

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the  author's  management  of  the  dramatic  form  and  his  blank  verse. 
It  is  a  wonderful  work.  The  dedicatory  poem  alone  is  of  such  sur- 
passing beauty  that  one  will  never  forget  it. 

The  Directory  of  the  Devout  Life 

A  Commentary  on  the  Sermon  on  the  Mount. 

i2mo.  Cloth,  net  $1.00.  F.  B.  MEYER,  M.A. 

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are  eminently  practical,  and  the  pointed  and  piercing  ideas  of  the 
Master  are  explained  and  brought  home  to  personal  character  and  life 
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With    the   Sorrowing    a  Pastor's  Handbook. 

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DEVOTIONAL  STUDIES. 


The  Christ  of  To- Day  "^^'i'^'^  whence?  whither? 

lOmo,  Boards,  net  50c.  G.  CAflPBELL  MORGAN 

A  study  originally  presetJted  from  the  platform  of  the  Northfield 
Conferences,  awakening  exceptional  interest  at  the  time.  No  more 
suggestive  work  has  appeared  from  Dr.  Morgan's  pen. 

The  Redeemed  Life  After  Death 

i6mo.  Boards,  net  50c.         CHARLES  CUTHBERT  HALL 

Not  a  new  theory  of  Immortality  or  a  review  of  old  theories,  but  a 
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wide  scholarship,  of  the  grip  of  the  Christian  heart  upon  the  life  to 
come.  It  will  comfort  and  assure  the  sorrowing,  guide  and  convince 
the  inquiring. 

Moments  of  Silence 

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A  book  of  daily  meditations  for  a  year. 

Yet  Another  Day 

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as  nothing  that  ever  came  from  Mr.  Jowett's  pen.  It  is  an  extraordi- 
nary, little  book,  the  flower  of  the  sweetest,  open  eyed  love  of  Christ. 
The  impression  of  a  single  page  Is  indelible. 

The  Inner  Chamber  of  the  Inner  Life 

lamo.  Cloth,  net  75c.  ANDREW  MURRAY 

Suggests  thoughts  of   the  utmost  importance  as  to  the  daily  need  of 

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kindred  topics. 

Inter-Communion  With  God 

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"Follows  the  theme  of  'Extempore  prayer,'  along  wider  and 
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Bible  Etchings  of  Immortality 

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Scripture  Selections  to  Memorize 

With  hanger,  net  $i.oo.  HELEN  MILLER  GOULD 

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Selections  from  the  Old  and  New  Testaments,  mostbelpful  In  strength- 
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BIBLICAL  STUDIES. 


Studies  in  the  Life  of  the  Christian 

His  Faith  and  His  Service. 
i6mo,  Cloth,  net  50c. ;  paper,  net  250.  H.  T.  SELL 

This  work,  prepared  especially  for  the  use  of  Bible  Classes  and 
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by  Dr.  Sell,  and  well  completes  the  whole  Every  phase  of  the  Chris- 
tian life  and  its  relations  is  dealt  with. 

Outline  Studies  in  the  Ne\\  Testament 

Philippians  to  Hebrews. 
X2mo,  Cloth,  net  «i  20.        PROF.  WILLIAM  G.  HOOREHEAD 

"It  is  a  book  for  thoughtful  students  of  the  Bible  and  will  be  found 
very  helpful  and  satisfactory  by  preachers  in  preparation  of  sermons 
and  by  Bible  class  teachers." — The  Watchman. 

Students  Chronological  New  Testament 

With  liistorical  notes  and  brief  outline  on  each  Book,  by 
8vo,  Cloth,  net  $1.00.  PROF.  A.  T.  ROBERTSON 

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ceded by  a  brief  synopsis  and  outline  The  volume  is  designed  for  all 
readers  and  students  of  the  New  Testament." — Epworth  Herald. 

The  Biblical  Illustrator      Newvols.  in  Old  Testament 

Large  8vo,  Cloth,  $2.00  each  vol. 

Edited  by  JOSEPH  5.  EXELL 

Psalms,  vol.1    [Psa,  \.  to  xxvi.].  Jeremiah,  vol.  i. 

Isaiah,  vol  i,    [Chapter  i.  to  xxx.].  Minor  Prophets,  vol.  1. 

Deuteronomy — in  one  volume.  Minor  Prophets,  vol.  2. 

The  Mei\  of  the  Bible  by  the  Men  of  the 

Century         in  seventeen  Handsome  Cloth  Volumes 
Formerly  S17.00,  now  $6.00  net,  per  set. 

Edited  by  JOSEPH  5.  EXELL,  H.  A. 
Abraham,  Isaac  and  Jacob,  Moses,  Joshua,  Gideon   and  Judges 
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Paul,  Jesus  Christ.     Send  for  circular  of  our  special  terms. 

BOOKLETS. 

^VaXWin  jj    The  story  of  a  College  Girl's  Awakening. 

Boards,  30c.  CAROLINE  ATWATER  MASOW 

The  story  of  a  healthy-minded  college  girl  whose  views  of  life  are 
transformed  by  the  accidental  meeting  with  a  returned  missionary. 

RrA»trin(^  ^fl**  P*»rrtrc1      Two  booklets  by  the  author  of 

DreaKing  ine  K.ecora.  TheSky  Piiot,  The  Prospectoi; 
The  Swan  Creek  Blizzard  ^"^ 

Art  boards,  each  30c.  RALPH  CONNOR 

Sure  to  receive  a  large  welcome  among  many  admirers. 


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